Video artist's reality check for the Turner

Published on Tuesday 3 October 2006 00:35

A VIDEO artist who is making a documentary about reality TV shows is on the shortlist for this year's Turner Prize.

Phil Collins, one of four artists nominated for modern art's most prestigious prize, has set up a production office at Tate Britain, London, to make the show, The Return Of The Real.

In a move which will revive the debate about whether genuine art is on show at the Turner Prize, Glasgow-based Collins has employed three researchers and producers to make the programme.

It is understood that Collins will present former contestants from British reality TV shows, such as Big Brother and Wife Swap, at a press conference at Tate Britain next month.

Collins has set up a company called Shady Lane Productions to make the programme, which will be operational at Tate Britain during the two-month Turner Prize exhibition.

The artist said of his project: "In 50 years, when people look back on this period in terms of the tensions between America and the Middle East, it will be noted that a large proportion of the British population liked nothing more than watching people on television, sitting around, doing nothing."

Collins is also submitting a similar documentary he made in Turkey last year, in which he invited people who felt their lives had been ruined by reality shows to tell their stories.

Tate Britain, which runs the Turner Prize, defended Collins's work. The curator, Katharine Stout, said: "It's a form of performance art. Contemporary art has a role in questioning and reflecting what happens in society."

Other artists competing for the 25,000 prize are the sculptor Rebecca Warren, the installationist Mark Titchner and the painter Tomma Abts.

The Turner Prize winner will be announced at Tate Britain on 4 December.