Turner Prize 2007: meet the artists
The four artists shortlisted for this year’s Turner Prize are a profoundly political bunch. From a bear costumed-commentary on the Cold War to an imaginary gang of Gulf War veteran bikers, their offerings are a far cry from the stark simplicity of a pickled shark.
One or two of the titles could even be considered works of art in their own right: take, for example, “Misplacement (a futurologial fable): mirrored cubes – inverted – with the reflection of an inner psyche as represented by a metaphorical landscape.” Quite.
But what of the bohemians behind them? What are their influences? Why do they do it? And what – if anything – does it all mean? In a bid to answer these questions and more, MSN UK News presents potted profiles of this year’s contenders. It’s art, but are they really artists? You be the judge.
Nathan Coley: There Will Be No Miracles Here
Who?
Nathan lives in Glasgow, where he was born in 1967 and graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1989. His previous work includes a series of drawings about the trial in The Netherlands of the men accused of blowing up the Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie. He has also created a scale model of the Marks & Spencer store in Manchester which was damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992. For his project The Lamp of Sacrifice at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery in 2000, Coley created cardboard scale-models of every single place of worship in the city. His most recent work includes film of the holy sites of different religious faiths in Jerusalem.
What's There Will Be No Miracles Here?
It’s an illuminated scaffold, inspired by a 17th century French king who was so exasperated by one village’s obsession with mysticism, he erected a sign saying “There will be no miracles here – by order of the King.”
What to say
“Rooted in urban and social practice, and underpinned by detailed research, Coley’s art explores the ways in which systems of social and political value can be inferred through the built environment. Meaning and intent is revealed through our physical engagement with the work to open up a range of possible readings; religious, political, as well as purely aesthetic.”What not to say
“You mean he can’t turn water into wine?”Chances of winning
This is the first time Coley has been nominated and, although he’s well established on the international scene, he’s up against some stiff competition. 3/5Mike Nelson: Amnesiac Shrine
Who?
Nelson was born in Loughborough in 1967, has an MA from Chelsea College of Art and Design and now lives in London and Edinburgh. A former nominee who lost to Martin Creed and his on-off light bulb in 2001, he is best known for his large architectural installations such as Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted seen at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London six years ago.What's Amnesiac Shrine?
Inspired by an imaginary gang of Gulf War veteran bikers, it’s a sort of mini-maze, containing cubes with peepholes in them that open into... well, that would spoil the surprise.
What to say
“Mike Nelson creates architectural installations with a haunting resonance, transforming existing spaces with meticulous constructions made from found objects. He fuses an encyclopaedic range of references into three-dimensional narratives. By littering his works with pertinent objects, he aims to provoke viewers into questioning their individual standpoints; he relies on our involvement to continue or complete the scene.”What not to say
“But it’s just a box with holes in it!”Chances of winning
Nelson is a Turner veteran, having been nominated once before in 2001. Second time lucky? Perhaps. 4/5Zarina Bhimji: Illegal Sleep, and Waiting 2007
Who?
Zarina Bhimji was born in Uganda in 1963, where her family initially defied General Idi Amin's expulsion of Asians and she lived in hiding for two years before they eventually left for Leicester in 1974. She studied at Slade School of Fine Art in London, where she now lives, but her political experiences in Uganda still permeate much of her work.What are Illegal Sleep and Waiting 2007?
They are a series of photographs and a film, made following her recent travels in India, Zanzibar and East Africa, which explore the countries’ intersecting colonial histories.
What to say
“Bhimji’s works are lamentations, expressing loss, grief, separation, and emotional and social upheavals. The subject matter of her work may be harsh, but it is treated with an enigmatic poetic beauty, hinting at a transformation of the self and society.”What not to say
“I’m sure I’ve seen this in Guns & Ammo...”Chances of winning
As a photographer rather than a painter, Bhimji is sure to enrage traditionalists. But this is modern art, after all, so there. 3/5Mark Wallinger: Sleeper 2004/5
Who?
Wallinger was born in Essex in 1959. He studied at Chelsea School of Art and then Goldsmiths in London, where he now lives and works. He was first nominated in 1995 when he named a racehorse A Real Work of Art, but was beaten by Damien Hirst. For his recent exhibition State Britain, he recreated the anti-Iraq war protest in Parliament Square, including all the banners, flags and barricades which surrounded protester Brian Haw.What's Sleeper 2004/5?
A two-and-a-half-hour film of Wallinger, dressed in a bear suit, wandering the corridors of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. No, really.
What to say
“Wallinger's primary concern has been to establish a valid critical approach towards the 'politics of representation and the representation of politics'. He chooses subjects in which he has a passionate interest, such as horse-racing, which he says 'has an extraordinary aesthetic frisson for me, which covers everything from the gambling to the magical identification with the animal on which your money rides to the sheer beauty of the thoroughbred'. His work often acts as a social commentary on class, royalty and nationalism.”What not to say
“A bloke in a bear suit? Are you kidding me?!”Chances of winning
With the second Turner nomination of his career, Wallinger is considered this year's heavyweight contender. 5/5by Laura Snook, MSN UK News Editor
November 5, 2007
Turner Prize 2007: a guide for armchair art critics
