The shortlist for Artes Mundi 8 brings together 5 exemplary international contemporary artists who directly engage with everyday life through their practice and who explore contemporary social issues across the globe. The shortlist was selected from over 450 nominations spanning 86 countries.

This year’s shortlist is a diverse selection of international artists spanning different generations and cultures and includes some of the pioneers of current contemporary art practice on the world stage. They are:

Anna Boghiguian (Canada/Egypt)
Bouchra Khalili (Morocco/France)
Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria/Belgium)
Trevor Paglen (USA)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand).

The work in the exhibition spans four continents and a varied range of artistic practices. Anna Boghiguian’s politically charged and nuanced drawings, paintings, cut-outs and installations survey globalism and intricate economies of power. Through her use of film, Bouchra Khalili’s deftly examines of resistance, minorities and identity, often in collaboration with her subjects. Otobong Nkanga’s intricate and beguiling tapestries, installations and use of minerals and organic material interrogate our fast-changing relationship with the land and colonial legacies. Trevor Paglen’s unique use of photography, scientific collaboration and journalism offer the viewer a chance to see the unseen, investigating shadowy government practices, surveillance and hidden structures of authority, while Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s meditative and dreamlike films explore the ghosts of Thailand’s past, liminal spaces of memory and identity and shared consciousness and belonging.

The winner of Artes Mundi 8 will receive a prize of £40,000GBP or equivalent local currency. The winner is announced on January 24^th 2019.

artesmundi.org