This is a treat not only for fans of the Japanese artist’s work, but for all lovers of art in public space. The pioneer of online digital art – Yoshi Sodeoka – will be this year’s headliner of the new media art festival Kinomural in Wrocław. At the beginning of the year, the artist’s multimedia exhibition was displayed on 95 giant screens in Times Square in New York. And in September, his large-format works will be on display in Wrocław.
Yoshi Sodeoka is known for his innovative exploration of different media and platforms, defining the concept of art in a new way. He uses forms of video, gifs or print in his work. He is passionate about music and his neo-psychedelic style directly reflects his interests. Taking inspiration from music genres such as noise, punk, metal and prog-rock, Sodeoka has developed a unique artistic vision that includes complex and consciousness-altering visuals.
My work has always revolved around experimentation – whether through real-time simulations like ROAR or through abstract video feedback like GIRLANDS. I have tried to push the boundaries of what digital tools can do, while showing that you don’t need big budgets or complex installations to create something expressive, immersive or emotionally resonant. The Kinomural is a powerful platform for such thinking. It gives artists a rare opportunity to scale their work onto the walls of buildings – to see it breathe in public space, to interact with the architecture and with people passing by. This kind of visibility can inspire new directions, new ideas and a deeper connection between the artist and the environment, the artist explains.
The digital world
His work today is linked to the digital world, which the artist began exploring decades ago. In the mid-1990s, Yoshi Sodeoka took on the role of art director of Word Magazine, one of the pioneering online multimedia magazines that shaped the early face of digital visual culture. He has collaborated with music icons, creating music videos and visuals for Metallica, Tame Impala, Oneohtrix Point Never, Max Cooper, Yeasayer and The Presets. His recognisable style combines a glitch aesthetic with an intense sound layer, which has earned him presentations at prestigious institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, Tate Britain, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
New media art is everywhere – sometimes hidden in plain sight. From AR filters on phones to generative visuals at concerts, from motion graphics in public spaces to interactive screens in museums and shops, new media has become part of the visual language in everyday life. What was once experimental is now part of how we communicate, entertain and express ourselves. It has infiltrated so many fields in recent years because it speaks the language of the present – data, speed, interaction, fluidity. It is adapting. As the tools evolve, so does the art. AI and real-time systems have given this evolution new powers, opening up new forms of co-creation. I think we will see more blurred boundaries: between art and interface, between audience and author, between virtual and physical. The next wave may not even look like ‘art’ as we know it,” adds Yoshi Sodeoka.
New York premiere
In January this year, his exhibition was held as part of Times Square Midnight Moment. The Infinite Ascent work spanned 95 screens, turning Times Square into a hypnotic, kaleidoscopic structure. The next such large-scale exhibition will be a showing of his work at this year’s Kinomural.
Seeing my work on such a huge scale – as in Times Square – completely changes the perspective. You feel the sound, you feel the colour. It’s not just a screen anymore; it becomes part of the environment. This experience has made me more sensitive to spatial composition, rhythm and how people physically encounter the work. Kinomural develops this in a powerful way. It places moving images directly into the fabric of the city, where buildings become canvases and the audience is part of the flow. I can’t wait to see how my work lives in this context – outdoors, unexpected and woven into everyday life. It’s familiar but still full of surprises,” says Yoshi.
Yoshi Sodeoka and the Swarm project in Times Square:
It’s time for Wrocław!
The artist has prepared a two-day programme especially for the festival. On the first evening – 19 September – he will present a generative video project, RÓJ, in which the murals of birds are treated simultaneously as a natural spectacle and a data system.
Created based on algorithmic flock simulations, Hive combines vector arrows, red tracking points, neon green fields and line graphs depicting speed and direction of movement. These layers create a visual language of computational logic – an attempt to decipher the secret of coordinated dynamics. The viewer’s experience balances between dizzying complexity and moments of stillness and tranquillity. HORN is a meditation on perception – human and artificial – and on the tension between wild behaviour and pure analysis.
I am honoured to be able to share my work at Kinomural this year. It’s a rare chance to see these works – usually created for small screens – on a much larger scale, outdoors, surrounded by architecture and at night. If you are in Wrocław, I would love you to come and experience them in a new way. I will show two different works over two nights – each with its own mood and rhythm,” invites Sodeoka.
For the second evening, Yoshi has planned a review of his works from previous years. GIRLANDS is a review of abstractions from his earlier work from 2017-2023, a project created in collaboration with Brazilian electronic music producer MYMK. It is a visual album of sorts with 11 tracks. The artists used custom digital video feedback that responds to sound and enriches the visual effects with vibrant colours that reflect the mood of each piece.
Curatorial description
The Swarm is a generative video project that shows the murmuration of birds simultaneously as a natural spectacle and a data system. Created from simulations of flocking algorithms, the visualisation combines a series of schematic elements – vector arrows, red tracking points, neon green boxes and line graphs that indicate speed and direction. These layers are an attempt to decipher the secret of coordinated movement using the visual language of computational logic.
The viewer’s experience balances between extremes: moments of dizzying complexity alternate with stillness and calm. At times the scene resembles a digital viewfinder image, at other times it resembles the emptiness of a green-screen in which birds drift peacefully in space.
Despite the density of visual information, we get a sense of reduction – the simplified lines and symbols do not describe the flock, but rather suggest how the machine might try to understand them. The Swarm is a meditation on perception – both human and artificial – and the tensions between wild behaviour and pure analysis.
Kinomural. New media art festival
Two September nights, 90 of the best artists from 20 countries and more than 500 screenings on the walls of the iconic Nadodrze buildings. The scale of this event completely changes the perspective of the city. It has to be experienced! Why? The city becomes a giant screen and the tenements come alive with light, movement and sound. The Kinomural undoubtedly gives the audience a new and unique experience. It is an event where there is no set path for watching and exploring the successive nooks and crannies of the artistic labyrinth. The audience embarks on a journey and decides for themselves what its direction will be. The programme features six walls with an average surface area of 300 m2 covering as many as four floors (just imagine – you could fit 29,000 smartphones on such a surface), each with a different story, a different world and different emotions. The selection of works is overseen by curators, thanks to which every year we can see works by top female and male artists of new media art from all over the world: Japan, Chile, Korea, Italy, Great Britain, the United States, Switzerland, Germany and Poland. The theme of this year’s edition is ODYSEY: BETA VERSION. Everyone should come to Wrocław at least once for the Kinomural. Further festival announcements and preparations can be followed on social media: Facebook, Instagram and at www.kinomural.com.
Kinomural. New media art festival
19-20 September 2025, 19:30-22:00
Wrocław, Nadodrze
Free event, admission free
source: KINOMURAL(https://kinomural.com)
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