Choi Chan-sook selected as final winner for Korea Artist Prize

The media installation work “qbit to adam” by artist Choi Chan-sook was selected on Monday as the final winner of Korea Artist Prize 2021. [MMCA]

Artist Choi Chan-sook was selected on Monday as the final winner of Korea Artist Prize 2021, co-organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) and the SBS Foundation.

The four finalists of the prize — Kim Sang-jin, Oh Min, Bang Jeong-a and Choi — are presenting their works at the MMCA Seoul until this Sunday. Choi presents “qbit to adam,” which consists of films and media art pieces. The work “focuses on land and body that constitute one's memory and history, entailing the stories of migration, immigration, and communities,” the MMCA explained.

Among the judges, Eugene Tan, director of Singapore Art Museum, described Choi's work as one "that has elegantly expressed a timely issue of land ownership that is of global interest not only in Asia."

Defne Ayas and Natasha Ginwala, who were the artistic directors of the 2021 Gwangju Biennale, described Choi as "an outstanding artist who deserves global recognition." Choi Eun-ju, director of Daegu Art Museum, said she was "impressed by how the visitors were immersed into the artwork."

The exhibition of the four finalists at the MMCA Seoul wraps up on Sunday.

BY MOON SO-YOUNG [moon.soyoung@joongang.co.kr]