The recipients of the SeMA-HANA Media Art Award, which recognises outstanding presentations at the Seoul Mediacity Biennale, have been announced as Hiwa K, Anocha Suwichakornpong, with an honorary mention going to Ernest A Bryant III.
The three awardees of this year’s SeMA-HANA Media Art Award were selected by a jury composed of Mika Kuraya (director of Yokohama Museum of Art), scholars Elena Vogman and Youngbin Kwak, Anton Vidokle, Hallie Ayres, and Lukas Brasiskis (13th Seoul Mediacity Biennale’s artistic directors) and Eunju Choi (art director of Seoul Art Museum), who announced the award.
Under the theme of Séance: Technology of the Spirit , which proposes other forms of “technologies” which are found in spiritual, mystical and occult traditions, artists from across the globe have been invited to propose these alternative modes of thinking as a resistance to the economy of capitalism in the modern world.
Hiwa K’s work, entitled You Won’t Feel a Thing (2025) and commissioned for the Seoul Mediacity Biennale was selected for its deep and relevant connection to the theme, as the artist explores the healthcare system in the West through a personal experience, leading him to ponder the disconnection between mind and body that occurs in the corporatised Western world, with art suggested as a means to counteract this pervasive mentality by encouraging connection and showcasing alternative modes of thinking. The Iraq-born artist’s multimedia practice often touches upon themes of conflict and the memory of war, while using personal narratives, stories from friends and family and everyday situations as references, all in the aim of learning from these reoccurring events.
Anocha Suwichakornpong’s Narrative (2025) acts as a revelatory exploration of the intricacies of loss, trauma and what is remembered, with an organised meeting among those whose relatives were victims of state violence during pro-democracy demonstrations in 2010 in Bangkok, blurring the lines between fact and fiction.
Ernest A Bryant III’s Self-Medication (2005) and Flight Jacket (2006–2008), an interactive sculpture and multimedia installation, respectively, were chosen for the use of intersecting art and technology in the form of monitors in the sculptures, as well as their vision of an alternative economy based on mutual exchange and giving.
The SeMA-HANA Media Art Award was created in 2014, supported by the Hana Financial Group, with an aim to promote contemporary art in Korea and further its visibility in the public eye. The award, which is comprised of prize money and a trophy, is bestowed upon artists at the Seoul Media City Biennale whose artwork is deemed particularly innovative and groundbreaking in the field of media art.
Eunju Choi, Director of Seoul Museum of Art, remarked: “Through the jury process, we were reminded that the theme of connecting to worlds beyond waking life is one of art’s oldest and most fundamental aspirations. I hope that audiences will revisit this Biennale with the spirit of embarking on a journey into unseen worlds that have always been close, yet are often overlooked.”
Seoul Mediacity Biennale runs until 23 November
