Mysticism meets media at 2025 Seoul Mediacity Biennale

A still from Jane Jin Kaisen's "Wreckage" (2024) / Courtesy of the artist

The upcoming Seoul Mediacity Biennale will gather 49 artists and collectives under the evocative theme of “Seance: Technology of Spirit.”

Opening on Aug. 26 at the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), the biennale’s 13th edition traces the mystical and spiritual currents that have shaped the course of art from the mid-19th century to today.

At the helm of the show is a trio of curators, all affiliated with the art publishing platform e-flux: its founder Anton Vidokle, associate director Hallie Ayres and Lukas Brasiskis, curator of video and film.

Describing a seance as “an encounter that exceeds our everyday perception of the world and reveals aspects of reality that are often hidden from our conscious experience,” the curators emphasize a growing artistic turn toward the unseen and the otherworldly.

“It’s very significant that many artists have in recent years gravitated toward ways of understanding the world that might offer an alternative to the prevailing systems … This show offers an opportunity to trace that lineage historically, and to understand these attempts as emancipatory and reparative.”

The 13th Seoul Mediacity Biennale brings together 49 artists and collectives under the theme of "Seance: Technology of the Spirit." Courtesy of SeMA

The exhibition opens with the groundbreaking practices of artists who also acted as spiritualist mediums — Georgiana Houghton, Hilma af Klint, Onisaburo Deguchi and Emma Kunz. From there, it spirals outward, delving into the influence of shamanism on Korean video art pioneer Nam June Paik and German performance artist Joseph Beuys. Also examined are the transcendental states evoked in the early experimental films of American visionaries Maya Deren and Jordan Belson.

The biennale then turns its gaze to contemporary creatives whose subversive works engage with varied traditions of the occult, enchantment and magic.

Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the SeMA, the Seoul Mediacity Biennale has been recognized for forging connections between art, media and the urban fabric of Korea’s capital since its founding in 2000. Drawing an average of 140,000 visitors, it stands as one of the country’s major art events, alongside the Gwangju and Busan biennales.

Further details on this year’s programs, commissions and satellite venues will be announced through the biennale’s official website.