The 7th Seoul International Media Art Biennale (Mediacity Seoul 2012) is pleased to announce the list of artists and exhibition theme for Spell on you. By inviting more than 50 artists from 17 countries, this exhibition will bring together an eclectic range of media art including installation, film, and interactive media. The title draws inspiration from ‘I Put a Spell on You,’ a blues song performed by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who is considered to be one of the early pioneers of ‘Shock Rock’ during the 1950s. This exhibition pays homage to his startling performance of this song, which expresses one’s primordial human desire to entice and possess an other by summoning a spell.
In the light of this song, Spell on you explores the recent proliferation of new media and information technology, which is reinforcing our obsession with control and domination through utilizing widely accessible and immediate forms of social communication. The exhibition’s artistic director states: “It can be said that both art and technology can propel the influence of a ‘spell,’ in the sense that they can pull us in with overwhelming and unpredictable force.” By re-considering the power of art and new media, the exhibition will showcase a variety of contemporary artworks set against the background of social, cultural, and political shifts that have taken place as a result of major technological developments in new social media.
About Seoul International Media Art Biennale
Launched in 2000 with a specific aim to enforce the image of the city of Seoul as a capital of technological development, the Seoul International Media Art Biennale is one of the few international biennials with a focus on ‘media art.’ Previous curators have included Misook Song, Wonil Rhee, Jin Sup Yoon, Byong Hak Ryu, Sunjung Kim, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Jeremy Millar, Barbra London, and Yuko Hasegawa.
Hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Museum of Art, Spell on you is co-organized by Jinsang Yoo, the 7th artistic director of Seoul International Media Art Biennale (Mediacity Seoul 2012), and three internationally renowned curators of contemporary media art; Yukiko Shikata (Independent Curator), Olof van Winden (Director of Netherlands Media Art Institute, NIMk), and Dooeun Choi (Former Creative Director of Art Center Nabi/Co-curator of Zero1 Biennale at San Jose).
Participating Artists
Adel Abdessemed; Marina Abramović; Romy Achituv; Zbyněk Baladrán; Bang&Lee; Maurice Benayoun; blablaLAB; David Bowen; Jae-eun Choi; David Claerbout; dNA; everyware; Exonemo; Dennis Feser; Nina Fischer & Maroan El Sani; Dominic Gagnon; Haque Design+Resarch; Jonathan Harris & Sep Kamvar; Jenny Holzer; Hong Seung-Hye; Sungmin Hong; HYBE; Ryoji Ikeda; Yeondoo Jung; Floris Kaayk; So Kanno & Takahiro Yamaguchi; JK Keller; Jeong Han Kim; Kichul Kim; Won Hwa Kim; Aaron Koblin; Donghee Koo; Ryota Kuwakubo; Robert Lepage; Alessandro Ludovico & Paolo Cirio; Daito Manabe & Motoi Ishibashi; Nathaniel Mellors; Seiko Mikami; Joon Y. Moon; NMARA; Till Nowak; Robert Overweg; Jon Satrom; Gordan Savičić & Bengt Sjölén; Jonathan Schipper; Joris Strijbos; Jens Wunderling; Ji-Hyun Yoon & Taiyun Kim; Akram Zaatari; Zimoun.
Curators:
| Yukiko SHIKATA(四方幸子), CHOI Dooeun, Olof VAN WINDEN |
Venues:
Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
Seoul Art Space_Geumcheon, Seoul, South Korea
SeMA Nanji Residency Seoul Square, Seoul, South Korea
Hanbit Media Park, Seoul, South Korea
Digital Media City Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
