Charlotte Prodger the latest Glasgow-trained artist up for the Turner
Charlotte Prodger today became the latest Glasgow-trained artist to be shortlisted for the Turner prize, perhaps the most famous - and at times controversial - award of its kind.
She was nominated for two video works, including one shot on an iPhone and named Bridgit after the Neolithic deity. The other traces a history of recent video formats and the artist’s personal history.
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Hide AdProdger’s films often build a complex narrative exploring relationships between queer bodies, landscape, language, technology and time.
The 44-year-old studied at Goldsmiths college in London before completing a Masters at Glasgow School of Art (GSA), which has produced no fewer than five previous Turner winners.
Judges praised the Glasgow-based artist for “the nuanced way in which she deals with identity politics, particularly from a queer perspective.”
Also shortlisted for the 2018 Turner are London-based Forensic Architecture - a collective of 15 architects, film-makers, software developers, journalists and lawyers who have worked around the world.
They are joined by film-makers Naeem Mohaiemen and Luke Willis Thompson in the race to claim the £40,000 first prize.
Scotsman art critic Susan Mansfield said: “It’s an interesting shortlist as all those nominated primarily work in film. There is also a similarity in themes as they are all particularly engaged in issues such as race, gender, and humanitarian causes - although some more than others.
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Hide Ad“I wouldn’t say this is the first time that has happened - but Turner shortlists are generally known for including a diverse range of artists with few obvious connections.
“The choice of Forensic Architecture is also intriguing as they are a collective, not all of whom are artists. A similar group, Assemble, won the Turner in 2015 and it raised all kinds of questions about what it means to be an artist. I think our definitions are becoming much broader.”
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Hide AdSince 1996, six artists associated with Glasgow – Douglas Gordon, Martin Creed, Simon Starling, Richard Wright, Susan Philipsz and Martin Boyce – have won the Turner.
Many more, including such names Christine Borland, Jim Lambie and Karla Black, have been nominated.
The city’s transformation into an internationally-renowned centre for the visual arts has become known as the “Glasgow miracle”, a phrase first used by German curator Hans Ulrich Obrist.