And the Winner Is …

Charlotte Prodger. Congratulations!

Last night, the winner of this year’s Turner Prize was announced by the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She eloquently highlighted the importance of creativity in our current society. And, Tate’s Director Maria Balshaw stressed her desire for art to be accessible to all indicating the need for art to remain a key part of education for everyone. Prodger also took the opportunity in her humble acceptance speech to acknowledge how it was the funding in further education had made her projects possible.

So where are we with creativity being taken seriously? Do the arts appear less important than, for example, the sciences in education and beyond? I felt a real sense of hope when each of the female speakers on stage in the beautifully lit Duveens argued for art as a catalyst to make our country and world a better place. In an era of political chaos, perhaps the arts are our most important coping mechanism or expression, our way forward.

The shortlisted artists Forensic Architecture, Naeem Mohaiemen, Luke Willis Thompson and the winner Charlotte Prodger all work with moving images rather than painting or sculpting. Their chosen medium of film is therefore considered modern and needs to be SEEN over time (to experience all the works in this year’s show takes several hours). The subject matter in each is also very contemporary: human rights violations, the manipulation of political utopias, class, racial and social inequality, institutional violence, and identity politics.

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2018

Entering the Turner Prize earlier this year, I was met with a large gallery space with grey sofas surrounding a coffee table as well as four doors. I chose the door closest to me and went in. It was Prodger’s 33 minute iPhone video about gender identity, landscape and mythology. Bridgit was shot over a year and is immensely personal and thought-provoking. I moved on systematically round to the next door, Thompson’s silent 35mm films projected onto the wall with the giant caged projector standing proud and clattering the ranks of looped film in the dark. Forensic Architecture next and I was drawn into the timeline and events of a raid on a bedouin village. Real footage and computer modelling are used to analyse and reconstruct the chaos. Finally, I walked through the last door and watched Mohaiemen’s two videos In Tripoli Cancelled and Two Meetings and a Funeral. I have to admit, the rather formal, comfy row of seats were a relief and once I’d taken all the works in, I felt exhausted. I was glad for the gallery space with sofas outside to sit and process (excuse the pun) what I’d just witnessed. My favourite was the Prodger but I wondered whether if I’d started with another door first, I might have felt differently. On reflection, I don’t think so.

Upstairs, with a fix of caffeine from the Member Room, I was reminded of one of my first memories of seeing the Turner Prize back in 1993. Both Vong Phaophanit’s rice and Rachel Whiteread’s House left a lasting impression on me.

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-1993

These works pushed the boundaries of artistic practice whilst communicating a powerful idea. There have been many moments since. More recently the Turner Prize, as a marker of artistic if not controversial achievement, has featured in more popular culture. Charlie Brooker's ‘The National Anthem’ from Black Mirror and Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s ‘Private View’ from Inside No.9 are two examples.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2089051/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08kbvfc

Its inclusion in these television series reflects the importance of the prize to the art world and further afield. Do watch these episodes if you haven’t already as they are very clever (and dark!).

This year's selected works are not easy viewing for the visitor. For me, the decision to have artists working with similar media was an intelligent one. How could a painter have been judged on the same terms if included? Each entry reflects a commitment to telling a story, using a modern process to address a modern issue. Next year, the Turner Prize will be held at Turner Contemporary in Margate. Paying homage to Turner himself, the namesake of the prize, I look forward to seeing the artists shortlisted. In the meantime, I am urging all to listen to the words of presenter, director and winner, art is immensely important to us all today.

The Turner Prize is open until 6 January 2019 at Tate Britain.