The artists shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2019 have been announced. They are Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani.
The winner will be announced on 3 December, and an exhibition of the artists’ work will be held from 28 September to 12 January 2020 at Turner Contemporary in Margate.
Lawrence Abu Hamdan: Earwitness Inventory, 2018 at Chisenhale Gallery
The winner will be announced on 3 December, and an exhibition of the artists’ work will be held from 28 September to 12 January 2020 at Turner Contemporary in Margate.
Abu Hamdan impressed the jury with solo exhibition Earwitness Theatre at Chisenhale Gallery, London, and for the video installation Walled Unwalled and performance After SFX, both at Tate Modern. The Beirut-based artist uses audio to investigate issues of human rights, memory and language.
Helen Cammock: The Long Note, 2018
Oscar Murillo: Collective Conscience 2018 at the 10th Berlin Biennale
Helen Cammock: The Long Note, 2018
Cammock’s solo exhibition The Long Note, held at Void, Derry-Londonderry and IMMA, Dublin, was praised by the jury for its “timely and urgent quality”. The exhibition looked at the history and the role of women in the civil rights movement in Derry-Londonderry and the variety of political positions that they took during the time.
Oscar Murillo: Collective Conscience 2018 at the 10th Berlin Biennale
Murillo was recognised for pushing the boundaries of materials with his paintings, drawings, performances, sculptures and use of sound. He often uses recycled materials from his studio to reflect his own experiences of displacement and social fallout from globalisation.
Tai Shani: DC Semiramis, 2018. Courtesy the artist and The Tetley. Photo Jules Lister
Shani’s ongoing project Dark Continent stood out for its ability to combine historical texts with contemporary issues. The project was developed over four years from a 15th century feminist text, Christine de Pizan’s the Book of the City of Ladies. Shani was also recognised for her work at Glasgow International 2018, her solo exhibition DC: Semiramis at the Tetley in Leeds and her participation in Still I Rise: Feminisms, Gender, Resistance, at Nottingham Contemporary and the De Le Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea.
The Turner Prize aims to “promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art”.
This year’s jury is: Alessio Antoniolli, the director of Gasworks and Triangle Network; Elvira Dyangani Ose, the director of The Showroom Gallery and a lecturer in visual cultures at Goldsmiths; Victoria Pomery, the director of Turner Contemporary, Margate; writer Charlie Porter; and chair Alex Farquharson, the director of Tate Britain.
This year’s jury is: Alessio Antoniolli, the director of Gasworks and Triangle Network; Elvira Dyangani Ose, the director of The Showroom Gallery and a lecturer in visual cultures at Goldsmiths; Victoria Pomery, the director of Turner Contemporary, Margate; writer Charlie Porter; and chair Alex Farquharson, the director of Tate Britain.
