Scottish talent showcased as Turner Prize Nominees are now on display in Gateshead
Oct 24, 2011
Two of the four artists nominated for the Turner Prize are Scottish born and bred, showing that Scotland’s artists are a force to be reckoned with.
Scottish artists, Karla Black and Martin Boyce are alongside English artists Hilary Lloyd and Geroge Shaw to win the famous contemporary art prize which was established in 1984 to celebrate developments in contemporary art.
This year the artwork is on display in Gateshead at the Baltic gallery. This is the first time that the exhibition has been showcased outside a Tate venue and is only the second time this exhibition has been held outside London. Baltic Director Godfrey Worsdale commented on the positive impact of taking the Turner prize to new locations across the UK, claiming ‘It’s taking it to new audiences, it’s a new phase in its life.’
Contender Martin Boyce was born in Hamilton in 1967, and graduated from the Glasgow School of Art with a BA in 1990 and an MA in 1997. Boyce recreates urban landscapes within the gallery space to investigate how their original political or visual ethos has changed over time. His sculptures are created to explore the alternative meanings that these objects could have taken on if created in a different moment in time. For example, in his 2009 exhibition No Reflections, he re-imagined the 15 century Palazzo Pisani as a deserted public garden to evoke the sense of faded grandeur.
Karla Black was born in Alexandria (Scotland) in 1972 and also graduated from Glasgow School of Art with a BA in 1999, an MPhil in 2000 and an MA in 2004. Black uses traditional art materials, such a paper and paint, and combines them with everyday objects and environmental materials, such as make-up and soil to explore the psychological reactions to order and mess. Her work occupies the gallery space in a particular way, by hanging from the ceiling or spread across the floor, to give the impression that her sculpture is intertwined with the original gallery structure and becomes a very imposing and commanding piece of art.
Hilary Lloyd from Halifax uses on the moving image as the centre-point to her work. She records the surrounding urban environment, e.g. buildings, and everyday scenes such as a waitress working in a cafe, people playing cards etc and showcases these scenes on monitors or projections. The equipment used to showcase these images is strategically placed in the gallery to obstruct the visitor and make them move through the space in a particular way.
Coventry’s George Shaw paints landscape scenes from his teenage years, all of which are within a 0.5mile radius of his childhood home on the Tile Hill estate. This estate could belong to any city or built anytime between 1950 to 1970 which gives his paintings a sense of timelessness and placeless quality.
The winner will be announced on 5 December. For more information on the Turner Prize, please visit the official website.
