Cathy Wilkes Overview

Cathy Wilkes was born in Belfast. She attended Glasgow School of Art 1985–1988, and took an MFA at the University of Ulster 1991–1992. She was a Fine Art sculpture tutor at the Duncan Jordanstone college of art 1996–2000.

Wilkes was nominated for the Turner Prize for her show at the Milton Keynes Gallery. This included her sculpture, Non-Verbal Installation, influenced by Lazarus Breaks His Fast, a painting in 1927 by Walter Sickert. The first meal taken by Lazarus after his coming back to life is porridge. Wilkes' piece includes a shop mannequin with bits of dried porridge in a bowl by its feet. The sculpture also includes a jar of apricot preserve, a baby buggy and a television.

Stephen Deuchar, director of Tate Britain and 2008 Turner Prize chairman, said: "Cathy’s work is not always going to be comfortable for the viewer. It’s like fragments of episodes in her life that we are not quite sure about. At some level, she’s inviting us to share issues that are deeply personal, almost too personal. One of the strongest visual features is the shop mannequin which has several attachments around her head. It is almost as if the mind is burdened with too many ideas."

The artist has a forthcoming show at Studio Voltaire, London. It will be her first solo show since her Turner Prize nomination.

Wilkes lives and works in Glasgow.