Tate Liverpool Fourth floor galleries
19 October 2007 – 13 January 2008
Tate today announced the four artists who have been shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2007. The artists are Zarina Bhimji, Nathan Coley, Mike Nelson and Mark Wallinger. The Turner Prize 2007 is supported by Arts Council England, Liverpool Culture Company, Northwest Regional Development Agency, Milligan and Tate Members. This is the first time that the Turner Prize has been presented outside London since it began in 1984, and is a curtain-raiser for Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008.
Zarina Bhimji
For her solo exhibitions at Haunch of Venison, London and Zurich, with work engaging with universal human emotions such as grief, pleasure, love and betrayal using non-narrative photography and film-making. Through powerful, atmospheric and poignant imagery, Bhimji’s recent work demonstrates a new approach to her long-standing preoccupations and research.
Nathan Coley
For his solo exhibition at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, the public installation Camouflage Church, Santiago de Compostela, Spain and his contribution to the group exhibition Breaking Step - Displacement, Compassion and Humour in Recent British Art at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade, Serbia. Through a variety of media, Nathan Coley’s work makes manifest the belief systems embedded in society and its architectures.
Mike Nelson
For his solo exhibitions AMNESIAC SHRINE or Double coop displacement, Matt’s Gallery, London and Mirror Infill (2006), Frieze Projects, Frieze Art Fair, London in which his immersive installations transport the viewer to imaginary, yet plausible worlds. For the Frieze Art Fair he created an installation of a photographic studio that brought the site of creativity to the heart of the commercial environment in which it was embedded.
Mark Wallinger
For his solo exhibition State Britain at Tate Britain. Mark Wallinger’s powerful installation demonstrates art’s unique ability to engage with contemporary political issues. The direct representation of Brian Haw’s banners and paraphernalia creates a force and conviction unmatched by the representation of the Parliament Square protest in the media. The work evokes a heightened sense of reality that communicates an unpalatable political truth.
With the support of this year’s funders, the prize fund is £40,000 with £25,000 going to the winner and £5,000 each for the other shortlisted artists. The Prize, established in 1984, is awarded to a British artist under fifty for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding 8 May 2007. It is intended to promote public discussion of new developments in contemporary British art and is widely recognised as one of the most important and prestigious awards for the visual arts in Europe.
Work by the shortlisted artists will be shown in an exhibition at Tate Liverpool opening on 19 October 2007. The winner will be announced at Tate Liverpool on 3 December 2007 during a live broadcast by Channel 4.
The members of the Turner Prize 2007 jury are:
Michael Bracewell, writer and critic
Fiona Bradley, Director, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
Thelma Golden, Director & Chief Curator, Studio Museum, Harlem
Miranda Sawyer, freelance broadcaster and writer
Christoph Grunenberg, Director, Tate Liverpool and Chairman of the Jury
The Turner Prize will return to Tate Britain in 2008. While the 2007 Turner Prize is hosted by Tate Liverpool, Tate Britain will present the Turner Prize: A Retrospective from 2 October 2007 – 6 January 2008. The exhibition will explore the history of the Turner Prize and will include key works by the winning artists against the broader context of each year’s shortlist.
Information and features on the Turner Prize and its history can be found at Tate Online (www.tate.org.uk/turnerprize).