well, it’s actually little mountains made out of an atomised passenger jet, if you are going to be literal about it (although as anyone who has ever lived with/encounterd/tripped over an artist will tell you, you should NEVER be literal about it).

Oh yes, the Turner Prize, Britain’s most controversial art prize is being awarded this weekend. The aforementioned dust piles (or, Untitled 2008) is by Roger Hions, whose amazing crystal instillation ‘Siezure’ I wrote about previously on this blog. He is joined on the shortlist by Lucy Skaer , Enrico David and Richard Wright, all of whom have created fascinating, engaging and often skilled works – unusual attributes for nominees for a prize reknowned for creating shrieking headlines like this, this and this.

Is it an exhibition showcasing the best of British art or is it (to quote the then Minister of Culture, Kim Howells)  ‘conceptual bulls**t’?

You can  see all the artworks at Tate Britain between now and 3rd of January. Why not visit to make up your own mind, and due to this year’s unusual absence of sex dolls, condom strewn beds and ‘Arsewoman in Wonderland’, you can even take your dear old Gran with you too.

Photo of Lucy Skaer’s ‘Leviathan Edge’ by meganleighsmith used under a Creative Commons License