Turner Prize shortlist unveiled

Mike Nelson's mixed media work The Coral Reef 2000

A film-maker, two installation artists and a photographer make up an all-male shortlist for the prestigious Turner Prize 2001.

The shortlist of four artists - Richard Billingham, Martin Creed, Isaac Julien and Mike Nelson - was announced at the Tate Britain gallery in London on Wednesday.

The Turner Prize is not designed to show the best artists or the greatest artists

Nicholas Serota

The artists are not as well-known as previous Turner nominees - such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst - and not as young, suggesting, perhaps, a move away from the Young British Artist movement which has dominated the prize in the past.

The judging panel has defended its decision not to include any painters on this year's shortlist.

Chairman of the judging panel and Tate director Nicholas Serota said: "We did discuss several painters who might well have been in this shortlist but some of the qualities of painting can be found in the work of Billingham and Julien."

Work No. 220: Don't Worry 2000 by Martin Creed

The four will compete for the £20,000 prize and the winner will be announced at a ceremony at the museum on 9 December.

Film-maker Isaac Julien trained at the St Martins College of Art, London, and his work has been shown at galleries across the world.

Stereotypes

He is best known for his films including, Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask and the Young Soul Rebels.

His films explore questions of race and masculinity and often work to undermine stereotypes.

The Turner judging panel said his work combined theoretical sophistication lush sensuality.

Martin Creed is an artist who has said his work is about "nothing in particular".

His installations, which include filling a gallery space with white or black balloons, were described by the Turner judges as having "purity and rigour".

Brutally honest

He often uses real objects such as doorstops, ceramic tiles and items of furniture in his work and has been shortlisted for conceptual pieces in neon.

I don't want to get over you, by Wolfgang Tillmans

His pieces include Work No. 79 - some adhesive gum rolled into a ball and pressed against a wall, and Work No. 88 which is a sheet of A4 paper crumpled into a ball.

Richard Billingham is an English photographer who is best known for his brutally honest images of his family in their tower block flat.

He began taking photographs of his family as source material for paintings but the photos were later exhibited as artwork in their own right.

Mike Nelson, whose work is described as having "haunting resonance", is an installation and sculpture artist whose work encompasses film, literary and cultural references.

An exhibition of work by the artists will open at Tate Britain on 7 November.

Mr Serota said the jury had looked at the work of more than 180 artists.

'Public discussion'

He said: "This year we have selected four artists, none of them very young and not many of them very well known.

Mike Nelson's The Resurrection of Captain Mission

"The Turner Prize is intended to promote public discussion of new developments in contemporary art.

"It is not designed to show the best artists or the greatest artists but the art that people working together find extremely interesting at that time."

The Turner Prize is awarded to a British artist under 50 years old for work exhibited in the 12 months before 24 May.

Last year German-born photographer Wolfgang Tillmans won the 16th Turner prize.

His work included images of a half-naked man urinating on a chair and rats running through a rubbish tip.

Outrage

The prize has long been associated with controversy and has been accused of sensationalism.

In 1998 Chris Ofili's work caused outrage when it was revealed elephant dung was used as one of his painting materials.

The sculptures of Antony Gormley, Rachel Whiteread and Anish Kapoor - all three Turner winners - have been less controversial but just as divisive in the public arena.

This year's jury includes Patricia Bickers, editor of Arts Monthly, Susan Ferleger Brades, director of the Hayward Gallery, Michael Archer, writer and arts critic, Greville Worthington, representative of the Patrons of New Art, and Nicholas Serota.