Turner Prize

The contestants for one of the most radical and forward thinking art awards in the world have been revealed. This year’s Turner Prize shortlist includes:

Kutlug Ataman’s six video screens carry simultaneous interviews with Turks who believe that they have been reincarnated.

Yinka Shonibare’s 30-minute film version of Verdi’s opera Un Ballo in Maschera, without music or words and a 3-D installation of a headless courtesan dressed in African textiles on a swing, inspired by Fragonard’s painting, The Swing.

An interactive virtual animation of an isolated house briefly lived in by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1996 during Taliban rule, which has been created by the artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell.

Jeremy Deller’s exhibits of a video of interviews conducted at George W Bush’s favourite diner in Texas and a “wall painting” of phrases such as “acid house”, “advanced capitalism” and “free parties”.

“Yes, it is quite serious this year,” confessed Stephen Deuchar, the director of Tate Britain, to the Daily Telegraph. “There is a sense of commitment and interest in the wider political world. International politics are a more obvious part of daily life these days.”

Turner Prize At The Tate Britain
Daily Telegraph Article
Guardian Newspaper Turner Prize Showcase

Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA