Watching the Unseen – The Showcase of South Korean Moving Image

Program 3: Themes in Contemporary Korea — History, Nature, State

Country of production

South Korea

Running time

The three-day program devoted to video and art film from South Korea was prepared in cooperation with the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul (MMCA). Divided into six chapters, the program opens with a presentation of rarely shown works of early Korean video art from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including works by Hyunki Park and Soungui Kim. Most of the program is devoted to the younger generation of Korean artists. They use new technologies and popular culture, boldly experiment with AI, and at the same time draw heavily on animism and folklore, as well as being inspired by activist movements. Selected films reflect dramatic historical events, the political turbulence of recent years, and a belief in the therapeutic, healing power of art.

Program 3: Themes in Contemporary Korea — History, Nature, State

It consists of contemporary film works by Hyewon Kwon, the ikkibawiKrrr collective, Donghyun Gyon & Seajung Kwon, and Hayoun Kwon—characterized by calmness and focus; they concentrate on repressed stories, human and non-human beings whose voices are not heard in official narratives, recovering what is invisible.

Program:

Kwon Hyewon, Tour Machine (2013) 11’7”, MMCA collection

ikkibawiKrrr, Seaweed Story and other short films (2022-2025)

Gwon Donghyun + Kwon Seajung, Love Death Dog & Epilogue, courtesy of the artists

Kwon Hayoun, Lack of Evidence (2011), 9’20”, courtesy of the artist

Kwon Hayoun, Model Village (2014), 9’34”, courtesy of the artist

Lecture: Kwon Hayoun

The program "Watching the Unseen – The Showcase of South Korean Moving Image" was developed in dialogue between Soojung YI, curator at the MMCA in Seoul, and Sebastian Cichocki, curator at the MSN. It heralds a program exchange between the MMCA and the MSN, in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, in the coming years.