Watching the Unseen – The Showcase of South Korean Moving Image

Program 6: Themes in Contemporary Korea — Ecology, Technology, Community

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.

Block 6: Contemporary agendas: ecological technology, community

Focuses on the practice of Unmakelab – a collective exploring the connections between artificial intelligence, economic growth, and imaginaries of Asian societies – for whom technology is not merely a tool but a mirror reflecting shared aspirations and fears.

Program:

Unmake Lab, New Village (2025), 24', courtesy of the artists

Unmake Lab, Ecology for Non Future (2023), 26’40”, courtesy of the artists

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