Driven by social issues
THE Turner Prize 2019 exhibition, which is now open to the public at the Turner Contemporary gallery, Margate, England, features works by each of the four artists shortlisted for Britain’s most prestigious visual art award. Among them are Colombian-born multidisciplinary artist Oscar Murillo, whose display at Turner Contemporary features more than 20 painted papermache figures stuffed with straw and dressed in work clothes.
The effigies, which have travelled to the exhibition by train, sit stoically on benches in front of the gallery window that faces the sea. However, their view of the seaside is obstructed by a thick black drape, raising questions about “social blindness” and “the darkness of the contemporary moment.”
Elsewhere at Turner Contemporary, London-based artist Helen Cammock explores the complexities of history in her latest offering, The Long Note.
The film examines the overlooked role of women in the civil rights movement in Derry, Northern Ireland, weaving together archive material, original footage and contemporary interviews.
In addition to the 100-minute narrative, Cammock’s presentation is completed with two performances, a reading space and a series of screen prints, entitled Shouting In Whispers.
Turner Prize nominee Tai Shani also reflects on the intersection between historical events, science fiction and mythology in her new installation version of DC Semiramis.
The project takes inspiration from The Book Of The City Of Ladies by French medieval author Christine de Pisan, which depicts an allegorical city inhabited by mythical, imaginary and real women from the past, present and future.
Visitors can wander around Shani’s science fiction installation, encountering the different characters that populate this non-patriarchal city.
Sound is a key component of Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s display, which comprises three sound pieces that derive from an investigation he undertook with Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture into the Syrian regime prison of Saydnaya, outside of Damascus.
Abu Hamdan conducted earwitness interviews with six survivors whose acoustic memories helped construct a map of the prison, where inmates were kept in brutal solitary conditions, with speaking being punishable by death.
All works by the Turner Prize finalists will be on view till Jan 12, 2020 in Margate, Kent.
This year, the seaside town follows Gateshead, Derry, Glasgow and Hull in hosting Britain’s most prestigious contemporary art prize, whose £25,000 (RM130,000) winner will be announced on Dec 3.
Founded in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded annually to an artist born, living or working in Britain, for an outstanding exhibition of their work anywhere in the world in the previous year. – AFP Relaxnews