Mirim Chu

South Korea

Mirim Chu (b. 1982) is a Seoul-based media artist who visualizes the intersection of urban structures and digital networks. Her practice explores the "interfaces" where physical cities and online environments overlap, utilizing the square pixel, the fundamental unit of the digital screen, and the geometric patterns found in satellite maps as her primary visual modules. Drawing from her professional background as a UI designer in the early 2000s, Chu investigates the nostalgia of the early digital era and the experience of growing up in planned "new towns." Her work uncovers the hidden systems of control and data-driven structures within our daily environments, weaving together disparate landscapes into fluid, interconnected narratives across painting, installation, and video. Recently, her practice has been driven by a growing interest in the data structures that underpin both the web and the contemporary city. Through this research, she develops works that evoke the patterns and logic of a data-driven society, constructing complex narratives that reflect digital environments and urban sensibilities across painting, installation, and video. In her latest video installations, she proposes intersected digital-urban landscapes that invite viewers to reconsider and reflect on the realities of everyday contemporary life.

Chu’s career has seen significant recognition on the international stage. In 2025, her work was featured in the Frieze Seoul Focus Asia section and the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) touring exhibition Kitsch and Pop in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Building on this momentum, she is currently pursuing an MFA in Media Art at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of Communication and Arts. Her upcoming projects for 2026 include exhibitions at the Gyeongnam Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, where she will continue to explore contemporary daily life through complex, data-inflected video installations.


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City Pixel Module

City_Pixel_Module_Mirim_Chu_Pixel.mp4

This project originates from the 8-bit pixel icon styles of the early digital era. The blocks filling the screen transform into pixelated icons symbolizing nature; they move fluidly across the composition, leaving a distinct rhythm upon the urban surface. These mountains, clouds, and winds are viewed through the lens of "Netstalgia": a longing for the days when the digital world was composed of large, palpable pixels.

At the center of the work, a pixelated satellite view of Seoul appears, representing the city where I live. Ultimately, this work is an expression of my daily life as I navigate the layers between the digital screen and the physical surfaces of the city.

technique

pixel

format

landscape

duration

01:28

year

2025

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