Anton Vidokle on Art, Technology, and Spirit at Seoul Mediacity Biennale 2025
Anton Vidokle, founder of e-flux and artistic director of the Seoul Mediacity Biennale 2025, discusses his exhibition 'Irradiation' at the National Gallery of Sofia and the biennial's theme 'Séance – Technology of the Spirit'. The biennial, co-curated with Hallie Aires and Lukas Brasiskis, revisits spiritualist artists like Hilma af Klint and Georgiana Houghton, proposing the exhibition itself as a séance. Vidokle's solo show 'Irradiation' (opened October 2025) pairs his films with Nicholas Roerich's paintings, exploring art as energy and healing. He references Russian Cosmism, Yuk Hui's pluralist view of technology, and his film 'Autotrofia' (2019) shot in Oliveto Lucano, Italy, documenting a pagan tree-marriage ritual. Vidokle critiques tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, advocating for a holistic redefinition of technology akin to art.
Key facts
- Anton Vidokle is artistic director of Seoul Mediacity Biennale 2025 titled 'Séance – Technology of the Spirit'.
- The biennial co-curators are Hallie Aires and Lukas Brasiskis.
- Vidokle's solo exhibition 'Irradiation' opened in October 2025 at the National Gallery of Sofia.
- 'Irradiation' combines six of Vidokle's films with paintings by Nicholas Roerich.
- Vidokle's film 'Autotrofia' (2019) was shot in Oliveto Lucano, Basilicata, Italy.
- The film documents a pagan ritual called 'marriage of the trees' involving an oak and a holly.
- Vidokle references Russian Cosmism, a utopian vision of immortality and cosmic destiny.
- He cites philosopher Yuk Hui's idea that there are as many technologies as cosmologies.
Entities
Artists
- Anton Vidokle
- Nicholas Roerich
- Hilma af Klint
- Georgiana Houghton
- Onisaburo Deguchi
- Kazimir Malevich
- Sergei Eisenstein
- Velimir Khlebnikov
- Andrei Platonov
- Vsevolod Meyerhold
Institutions
- e-flux
- Seoul Mediacity Biennale
- National Gallery of Sofia
- Artribune
Locations
- Moscow
- Russia
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Sofia
- Bulgaria
- Oliveto Lucano
- Basilicata
- Italy
- New York
- United States
- Tibet
- North America
- South America
- Europe