has announced Ursula Mayer as winner of the 2014 . The Austrian-born filmmaker was selected from a shortlist of 10 visionary and boundary-crossing visual artists working in the UK. An annual celebration of experimentation, imagination and inspiration, the award recognises artist filmmakers whose creative practice defies conventional classification or definition. As winner of the seventh Jarman Award, Mayer joins the ranks of previous prize recipients Luke Fowler, Lindsay Seers, Emily Wardill, Anya Kirschner & David Panos, James Richards and John Smith.
Last night’s awards ceremony at the , London, offered attendees the opportunity to reflect on an innovative and highly-experimental group of artists and filmmakers. Following a successful national touring programme of exhibitions, talks and screenings, shortlisted works were showcased at a special weekend of film, live performances and artist/curator discussions at Whitechapel Gallery, prior to the concluding awards evening event. Judged by a panel of industry experts, Mayer received 拢10,000 and a film commission for Chanel 4’s short-form arts strand, . Joining the artist and Random Acts for their own commissions are shortlisted filmmakers Sebastian Buerkner, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, and Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard (also announced earlier this week as winners of the Best Debut Director).
The jury, comprised of filmmaker John Maybury, Whitechapel Gallery director Iwona Blazwick, Channel 4鈥檚 Commissioning Editor for Arts John Hay, ICA’s Associate Curator of Artists鈥 Film & Moving Image Steven Cairns, and artist filmmaker Beatrice Gibson, commented on Mayer’s intuitive connection with film creative Derek Jarman (1942-1994) ‘s innovative practice: “It was the work of Ursula Mayer that came closest to touching on the language that Derek Jarman himself so often strived for. Fusing historical research with a dazzling contemporary aesthetic, Mayer brings to life the heroines and b锚tes noires of feminist Modernism. In the spirit of Jarman, she has also brought to the screen a cast of remarkable contemporary performers”.
The Film London Jarman Award touring programme ran from 23 September – 7 December, nationwide.
Ursula Mayer’s work can be seen in Mirrorcity until 4 January at the , London.
For additional details and a preview of Mayer鈥檚 work, visit .
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Credits
1. Ursula Mayer, Gonda (2012). Courtesy of the Hayward Gallery.
