Video artist Choi Chan-sook wins Korea Artist Prize 2021

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has named video artist Choi Chan-sook as the winner of the Korea Artist Prize 2021 among the four finalists who showcased their works at the museum.

The national museum shows commissioned works by four finalists of the annual award, which aims to support young and promising Korean artists. The newly commissioned works by the four artists -– Choi Chan-sook, Kim Sang-jin, Bang Jeong-a and Oh Min -- are on display at the exhibition “Korea Artist Prize 2021” at MMCA Seoul, which runs through Sunday.

Choi has explored the land in her media art. She focuses on land which has become privatized and turned into an object of investment, sometimes expelling marginalized people.

In the film work “qbit to adam,” the artist shows the stories of people who were pushed out of their land, asking when land began to be privatized. The four-channel video installation and the bronze-colored floor bring an immersive experience to the viewers at the exhibition space.

“I am interested in the migration, especially those with no choice but to be marginalized or neglected. This interest did not stem from a specific matter -- but rather -- from my own experiences, having lived as a migrant for an extended period of time without a solid foundation,” she said in her interviewed filmed by the museum.

Her artistic inspiration also is derived her life as an artist who have traveled between South Korea and Germany as well as the memories about her Japanese paternal grandmother who had lived in South Korea for her entire life.

Choi received a diplom and a master’s degree in visual communications and media art from Berlin University of the Arts.

The MMCA and co-organizer SBS Culture Foundation have awarded the Korea Artist Prize since 2012 in an effort to promote talented Korean artists and help them expand their artistic activities at home and abroad.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)