Jeremy Deller Turner Prize 2004
Turner Prize 2004 exhibition poster
Jeremy Deller Cop with Flowers, San Antonio, Texas 2003
Kutlug Ataman Still from The 4 Seasons of Veronica Read 2002
Langlands and Bell The House of Osama bin Laden 2003
Yinka Shonibare Scramble for Africa 2003
Shortlist
- Kutlug Ataman – nominated
- Jeremy Deller – winner
- Langlands & Bell – nominated
- Yinka Shonibare – nominated
Turner Prize dominated by political ideas
The 2004 exhibition was dominated by film and video works with strong political themes reflecting the international climate since the war on Iraq. The Prize triggered debate about the boundaries between video art and documentary filmmaking. Langlands & Bell’s Zardad’s Dog, a film of the first capital trial in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban, caught the media’s attention when it was withdrawn from the show because it might influence the trial of an Afghan warlord at the Old Bailey. When Jeremy Deller was announced the winner critics and the public agreed that the right decision had been made.
Jury
- Catherine David, Director, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam
- Adrian Searle, Art Critic, The Guardian
- Robert Taylor, representative of Tate Patrons
- David Thorp, Curator, Contemporary Projects, Henry Moore Foundation
- Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate
Turner Prize 2004 in quotes
We all have a political or social responsibility. Being an artist doesn’t make you special in that respect.
Jeremy Deller on BBC News, broadcast in October 2007
Thank goodness someone or some people are challenging the force-fed media images we face every day. Art should be politically charged. Let’s all think.
Visitor comment, 2004
I think it’s really a tremendous result, not just for the art world but for beyond the art world. It gives out a great signal in terms of what art might be and what it could do.
Andrew Renton, juror on BBC Breakfast, December 2004
