Curators Anton Vidokle, Hallie Ayres and Lukas Brasiskis have given the 13th edition of the Seoul Mediacity Biennale a title and theme, and announced the 49 artists and collective who will take part.
Séance: Technology of the Spirit focuses on the influence of mystical and spiritual experiences on the development of modern and contemporary art.
It will feature artist-mediums such as Georgiana Houghton, Hilma af Klint, Onisaburo Deguchi and Emma Kunz; as well as invoking ideas of shamanism and transcendentalism in the work of Nam June Paik, Joseph Beuys, Maya Deren and Jordan Belson.
The curators state that they are seeking ‘to create an exhibition in
the form of a séance as the word is used in the context of spiritualism, cinema, and psychoanalysis. That is to say, an encounter that exceeds our everyday perception of the world and reveals aspects of reality that are often hidden from our conscious experience. It’s very significant that many artists have in recent years gravitated towards ways of understanding the world that might offer an alternative to the prevailing systems, which seem at present to be in crisis. This show offers an opportunity to trace that lineage historically, and to understand these attempts as emancipatory and reparative.’
Also seeking an audience with the afterlife (and, presumably, the living, breathing, visitors to Seoul Museum of Art from 26 August) are: Aki Onda, Amit Dutta, Angela Su, Anocha Suwichakornpong, Anri Sala, Byungjun Kwon, Colectivo Los Ingrávidos, Corita Kent, Emma Kunz, Ernest A. Bryant III, Georgiana Houghton, Guadalupe Maravilla, Haroon Mirza, Hiwa K, Hsu Chia-Wei, Hyung-Min Yoon, I Ching Systems and Artworks, Jane Jin Kaisen, Joachim Koester, Johanna Hedva, Kara Ditte Hansen, Karrabing Film Collective, Kivu Ruhorahoza and Christian Nyampeta, Kray Chen, Laura Huertas, Millán Lucile, Olympe Haute, Manuel Mathieu, Mike Kelley, Minjeong An, Mohamed Gaber, Onisaburo Deguchi, ORTA (Alexandra Morozova and Rustem Begenov), Rafael Queneditt Morales, Rudolf Steiner, Seung-taek Lee, Shana Moulton, Sky Hopinka, Suzanne Treister, Takamine Go, Tamar Guimarães and Kasper Akhøj, Violette Astier, Wing Po So, Yin-Ju Chen and Zai Nomura.
