Turner Prize 2008 artists: Runa Islam

Runa Islam is fascinated by the ability of film to capture something existing beyond physical space. Her film installations explore the content and apparatus of film, exposing its technical processes to reveal the inherently illusory nature of the medium, yet preserving its magic. They assert that the internal and external codes of cinema cannot be separated. Location, action, shot and installation, apparatus and dialogue with the viewer are all agents in the production of light and illusion. She carefully choreographs these elements in open ended, counter narrative frameworks and composed installations that are conceptually based but at the same time emotionally charged. Whilst visually lyrical, underwritten by their conceptual foundations they are an investigation into the technology of film and the possibilities of representation.

Runa Islam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1970. She studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, 1997-8 and Royal College of Art, London, 2002-4. Solo exhibitions include: White Cube, London (2001, 2005); MIT List Visual Arts Centre, Cambridge, Massachussetts (2003); Camden Arts Centre, London; Hammer Projects, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2005); Centro de Arte Contemporaneo, Malaga; Serpentine Gallery, London (2006); Kunsthalle Bergen (2007); MUMOK, Vienna (2008). Her recent group exhibitions include The British Art Show 5, Hayward Gallery touring exhibition (2000); Century City, Tate Modern, London (2001); Poetic Justice, 8th International Istanbul Biennial (2003); 51st Venice Biennale (2005); Around the World in Eighty Days, ICA, London (2006) and Brave New Worlds, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2007).