Elephant dung artist wins top British art prize
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are bedecked with elephant dung, was presented Tuesday with Britain's top
art award, the Turner Prize.
``Oh Man -- thank God. Where's my check?'' the painter asked the glitterati
of the art world at the lavish awards ceremony in London's Tate Gallery.
Ofili, the first painter to land the prize in 13 years, said: ``I don't know
what to say. I feel really happy. I cannot believe it. It feels like a film.
I shall watch the tape when I get home. Thanks.''
The 20,000 pound ($33,000 dollar) prize, previouly won by artists for works
ranging from a pickled sheep to a wrestling video, sparks controversy every
year. This year was no exception.
The centerpiece of Ofili's colorful and exuberant work was a striking
painting that depicts a corpulent black pop star bursting out of a tinseled
outfit. The canvas was dotted with blobs of elephant dung.
Ofili, who first picked up the dung in Zimbabwe but now gets his supplies
from the London Zoo, was unrepentant about his unorthodox choice of art
materials.
``It is pretty straightforward, it comes out of the elephant's arse, it
dries up and is ready to go,'' he said.
Ofili, the hot favorite with the bookmakers to win the prize, fought off
stiff competition from three female artists.
Sculptor Cathy de Nonchaux repelled and fascinated gallery visitors with her
tortured female genitalia works.
Video installation artists Tacita Dean -- capturing images of Hungarian
women in a Budapest steam bath -- and Sam Taylor- Wood -- reliving a
couple's bitter breakup in a crowded restaurant -- were the other prize
contenders.
The prize, open to British artists under the age of 50, has in the past been
mocked as a pretentious publicity stunt by critics, but it invariably
attracts huge crowds to the Tate Gallery.
In 1995, media interest peaked when Damien Hirst, the enfant terrible of
British art, won the award with a pickled sheep.