In Britain, October is more than the ninth month of the year, but boasts the opening exhibit for the Turner Prize finalists short-listed for the award. For the first time in its 23-year, the four selected artists- Zarina Bhimji, Nathan Coley, Mike Nelson and Mark Wallinger- will have their work showcased in Liverpool, versus London. Conversely, the Tate Britain with host a retrospective exhibit of past Tate winners in London. This year architecture, film and photography are the highlighted mediums where influential judges will select a rising architect, filmmaker or photographer while nominees’ works reflect or predict the state of art in Britain.
The Turner Prize, an annual prize presented to a British artist, is organized by the Tate Gallery and has evolved into the Britain’s most prestigiously-publicized award. In addition to the prestige and £40,000 cash award, potential awardees' works are oftentimes subversive, testing the boundaries and raising the question of what is art and who decides. The 2007 deciders include Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum, Harlem; Fiona Bradley, Director of the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; Michael Bracewell, critic and writer and Miranda Sawyer, writer and broadcaster.
Nominees, such as Zarina Bhimji, a Ugandan photographer and filmmaker, draw particular attention to the conversation of what is British art. Bhimji’s 'Out of Blue', documents images of Uganda’s lush greenery and splendor coupled with its history of expulsion and exile as a background. Bhimji’s film and other works address political and social strife, in the form of emotions, or lack of. Her work is expressive and melancholic, including ambitious themes of redemption for self and society. As a Tate nominee, Bhimji’s historical context and imagery meld appropriately within Britain’s historical and social fabric, as many expelled Ugandans immigrated to Britain in the early 1970s. With or without the award, artists and judges alike gain substantial attention and recognition on the strength of their involvement in the process.
