Turner Prize Won By Irish-Born Video Artist

Artist Duncan Campbell has won this year’s Turner Prize for his series of films called It For Others.

The judges said his work, which includes African art and iconic images from the Troubles in Northern Ireland, was “topical and compelling”.

Accepting his £25,000 prize, Irish-born Campbell said: “This money will make a huge difference to me, even being nominated for the prize has given me great heart”.

On the Tate website, Frieze editor Jennifer Higgie wrote: “Campbell makes films about controversial figures such as the Irish political activist Bernadette Devlin or the quixotic car manufacturer John DeLorean. 

“By mixing archive footage and new material, he questions and challenges the documentary form.

“He’s a really compelling filmmaker. I’ve noticed that when his films are shown in galleries people will sit through 45 minutes and no one will leave.”

Campbell had been the favourite to win, with The Guardian’s Laura Cumming calling him “the only obvious winner” and the Daily Telegraph’s Richard Dorment saying he was “the real thing as an artist”.

He is the fourth graduate from the Glasgow School of Art’s Master of Fine Art Programme to win the prize in the last 10 years.

And his victory cements the domination of the school over the UK’s contemporary arts scene.

It will be a boost to its reputation in a year which it was rocked by a fire that tore through its historic Mackintosh building.

The blaze engulfed the Grade A-listed building, leading to the loss of about a tenth of the structure and a third of its contents, causing shock around the city and the arts world.

The school’s director Professor Tom Inns said: “The Glasgow School of Art warmly congratulates Duncan Campbell on winning the Turner Prize.

“This is a great accolade both for Duncan and for the Glasgow School of Art. Duncan becomes our fifth winner of this prestigious award since 1996 and the fourth graduate of our Master of Fine Art programme to win since 2005.”

“Duncan and all the previous GSA winners and shortlisted artists are a great inspiration to the current generation of students and the wider visual art community here in Glasgow.”

12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor presented the prize to Campbell at a ceremony at Tate Britain in central London.

The Turner Prize has a reputation for controversy.

Previous winners have included Martin Creed’s installation featuring a light going on and off and Grayson Perry’s pots tackling subjects like death and child abuse.

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Turner Prize Won By Irish-Born Video Artist