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Jane Wilson and Louise Wilson (born 1967 in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the la ...
) are British artists who work together as a sibling duo. Jane and Louise Wilson's art work is based in video, film and photography. They are YBA artists who were nominated for the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
in 1999.Adams, Tim. (10 October 1999)
Jane and Louise Wilson
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 25 June 2013.


Lives and careers


The collaboration begins

Louise studied for a BA at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, and Jane at Newcastle Polytechnic (1989). For their degree show they submitted identical work (photographs where they appeared to be murdering each other, one by drowning, one with a noose). Jane and Louise Wilson then studied together on the MA course at
Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...
, London (1990-1992). When they left art school, they lived in King's Cross and made films of small living spaces, such as bed and breakfast rooms. Another early film showed them taking
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
for the first time. Jane and Louise Wilson's work together includes multiscreen video installations and photo-pieces; their artworks often feature institutional spaces, for example an oil rig, the archives of the
Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state authori ...
in East Berlin (the building had previously been used by the Nazis and Stalin's Russia), The Houses of Parliament, and the Apollo Pavilion in
Peterlee Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also creat ...
designed by
Victor Pasmore Edwin John Victor Pasmore, CH, CBE (3 December 190823 January 1998) was a British artist. He pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Pasmore was born in Chelsham, Surrey, on 3 December 1908. He ...
.


Turner Prize 1999

The pair were nominated for the
Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
in 1999, cited for their exhibition, ''Gamma'' at the Lisson Gallery in London. On the run up to the Turner Prize winner announcement, they also had a solo exhibition at the
Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Central London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery ...
in London (1999). Art works that were exhibited included ''Stasi City'', ''Parliament (A Third House)'', and ''Gamma'', a multiscreen video installation that was filmed at the former US military base at
Greenham Common Royal Air Force Greenham Common or RAF Greenham Common is a former Royal Air Force station in the civil parishes of Greenham and Thatcham in the English county of Berkshire. The airfield was southeast of Newbury, about west of London. Opened ...
in Berkshire. This site was used to house nuclear cruise missiles during the Cold War and decommissioned in 1992. The Wilsons' video moves through the deserted institution, where nothing is now happening, evoking disturbing memories and possibilities. There is a sense of unease and threat, implied but never realised. They are the only characters in the film, appearing in military-style skirts and polished black shoes.


2000s

In 2003, the Wilsons developed their work with greater complexity, involving not only multiple projections but also a variety of differently positioned surfaces as screens in the art work and exhibition ''A Free and Anonymous Monument'' (2003). It includes films of a microchip factory, playing children, a lake, a rusting oil rig and the Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee New Town, near Gateshead. In 2009 they created 'Unfolding the Aryan Papers', based on the extensive research they conducted at the Stanley Kubrick Archive, University of the Arts, London. A commission by Animate Projects and the British Film Institute through the contemporary arts programme of the BFI Gallery, where the resulting installation was presented In 2013-14, Jane and Louise Wilson had a solo exhibition at
Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfo ...
in Manchester, England which addressed the aftermath of atrocities. Their works Blind Landings (H-bomb Test Site, Orford Ness) #1-6 are in the collection and on display at
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...
. In 2018 Jane and Louise Wilson were elected to be
Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
.


References


External links


janeandlouisewilson.co.uk
( official site)
303 Gallery, New York: Jane & Louise Wilson
( 303 Gallery)
Interview with Jane & Louise WilsonAudio interview with Jane & Louise Wilson about their images of Atlantic Wall Bunkers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jane and Louise 1967 births Living people Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of the University of Dundee Art duos Artists from Newcastle upon Tyne English women artists English installation artists English contemporary artists Sibling artists English twins 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Royal Academicians