Protest artist nominated for Turner Prize

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5 April 2012

The artist who recreated the Parliament Square anti-war protest in Tate Britain has been nominated for this year's £25,000 Turner Prize.

Mark Wallinger, 48, made a 40-metre display by meticulously reconstructing the banners, flags and barricades which surrounded protester Brian Haw in Westminster.

Wallinger was previously nominated for the prestigious award 12 years ago when he named a racehorse A Real Work of Art. He was beaten then by Damien Hirst but will be regarded as one of the heavyweight contenders this year.

Chigwell-born Wallinger's work often acts as a social commentary on class, royalty and nationalism. He has also addressed faith, notably with the Christ-like sculpture, Ecce Homo, on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth.

His rivals are Zarina Bhimji and Nathan Coley, who also have a strong political vein in their works, and another former nominee, Mike Nelson, who lost to Martin Creed and his on-off light bulb in 2001.

None of the nominees is primarily a painter which is bound to upset the traditionalists who believe that a prize named after a great painter has been hijacked by conceptual art.

Nelson, 41, is best known for his large architectural installations such as Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted seen at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London six years ago. himji, 43, was born in Uganda of Asian descent.

Her family initially defied General Idi Amin's expulsion of Asians and she lived in hiding for two years before they eventually left for Leicester in 1974.

Her Ugandan experiences informed both her 2002 film Out of Blue and her most recent series of photographs, Love. Coley, 39, from Glasgow, is the only artist on the shortlist not working in London.

His previous work includes a series of drawings about the trial in The Netherlands of the men accused of blowing up the Pan-Am jet over Lockerbie.

He has also created a scale model of the Marks & Spencer store in Manchester which was damaged by an IRA bomb in 1992. His most recent work includes film of the holy sites of different religious faiths in Jerusalem.

For the first time the exhibition of work by the four nominees will be held at Tate Liverpool this year instead of Tate Britain as a curtain-raiser for Liverpool's turn as European capital of culture in 2008.

In its place, Tate Britain will be hosting an exhibition of work by previous winners, including Rachel Whiteread, Howard Hodgkin and Antony Gormley. The Turner winner, chosen by a panel of curators and critics, will be announced on 3 December.

The prize was set up in 1984 and is awarded to a British artist, including artists working in the UK, under the age of 50 for work exhibited in the last year. It is designed to promote public discussion of contemporary art.

Others in the race for £25,000 prize

Zarina Bhimji: Born in Uganda in 1963. Studied at the Slade in London, where she now lives. Nominated for her solo exhibitions of photography and film at Haunch of Venison gallery in London and Zurich. Her work explores human emotions of grief, pleasure, love and betrayal.

Nathan Coley: Lives in Glasgow where he was born in 1967. Studied at the Glasgow School of Art. Nominated for exhibition at Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute, the installation Camouflage Church at Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and his contribution to an exhibition of British art in Belgrade. Uses a variety of media to examine belief systems.

Mike Nelson: Born in Loughborough in 1967. An MA at Chelsea College of Art and Design. Now lives in London and Edinburgh. Nominated for his exhibition at Matt's
Gallery, London, and for Mirror Infill, an installation of a photographic studio at the 2006 Frieze Art Fair in London. Specialises in
installations.

Mark Wallinger: Born in Chigwell, Essex, in 1959. Studied at Chelsea School of Art and then Goldsmiths, London. Lives and works in London. Work displayed at Charles Saatchi's gallery in 1997. Nominated in 1995 and this year for his solo exhibition State Britain, a recreation of the anti-Iraq war protest in Parliament Square.

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Protest artist nominated for Turner Prize

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