Elizabeth Price (b. 1966, Bradford) is a London-based artist and Turner Prize winner, creates captivating video installations that intertwine historical materials, contemporary imagery, and a diverse range of media. Drawing from analogue and digital photography, animation, motion graphics, and archival footage, her work is rich in layers, inviting viewers into immersive worlds that often blend the past with the present. These installations are frequently accompanied by scrolling textnarrated by a computerized voice, further enriched by music and aural motifs created from sounds like finger clicks, claps, and vocal harmonies.
Price’s pieces often address overlooked histories and delve into socio-political themes such as power, gender, value, and language. She restages these themes through the lens of technology and culture, exploring their complexities and how they intersect. Her work engages deeply with history, politics, and pop music, often punctuating the visuals with bold, graphic interventions, and using text and slogans that echo advertising aesthetics and political propaganda. This blending of visual and auditory elements creates a ritualistic undertone, inviting the audience to contemplate the cultural and societal structures that shape our world.
Her meticulous process results in works that often take over a year to complete, and she frequently revisits her earlier pieces, creating updated versions that further expand on her exploration of historical and socio-political issues. The time-intensive nature of her practice ensures that every detail—whether visual, textual, or auditory—adds to the multilayered experience of the viewer, creating a dialogue between the medium and the message.
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In 2012, Elizabeth Price was awarded the Turner Prize for her solo exhibition Here at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Her work has been exhibited globally, including at prestigious venues such as Tate Britain, the New Museum in New York, and the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in Berlin, among others. Her ability to integrate technology, history, and cultural critique within moving images has made her a standout figure in contemporary film and video art.
The Jarman Award, which celebrates innovative UK-based artists working with moving images, has recognized Elizabeth Price’s unique approach to the medium. The award pays tribute to the legacy of Derek Jarman, a pioneering British artist and filmmaker, and highlights emerging artists whose work continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. Past recipients, like Price, have gone on to have major careers, with many being shortlisted for the Turner Prize, underscoring the vital role of moving image art in contemporary discourse. The exhibition associated with the Jarman Award, supported by Film London, brought together works from a range of international artists, offering a snapshot of the dynamic and evolving world of UK-based moving image art.
Elizabeth Price studied at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford and the Royal College of Art, London. In 2012 she won the Turner Prize for her solo exhibition, Here, at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead. She is a recipient of the Contemporary Art Society Annual Award. Her work has been exhibited around Europe and the United states, including at Tate Britain, London; New Museum, New York; Contemporary Art Society, London; and Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin.
The Jarman Award was exhibited as part of a curated programme of international artists’ moving image by Keith Whittle and Margherita Gramegna with support from Film London.
