An investigation of Phil Collins’ ‘the return of the real’ installation at the 2006 Turner Prize

Daniel Kennedy
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2007
BA

Subject: Photography and Film
Country: United Kingdom and Turkey
Period: 21st Century

10,000 words

This dissertation examines ‘the return of the real’, a multimedia installation by British artist, Phil Collins. This installation consists of a series of interviews between an interviewer and people who had had bad experiences through participation in reality television. The author examines this work within the context of contemporary art which has uses the language of documentary as a central reference. This study opens with an examination of Collins’ deconstruction of the language of conventional media, his acknowledgment of the influence of predecessors and the extent to which he distinguishes his work from other documentary contemporary art practices. The second section looks at Collins’ exploration of the central role of the camera in 21st century society, while the final chapter sets a criteria for Collins’ success with this work. Incl. DVD of clips from work.

Irish Georgian Society

Education Theses Register

An investigation of Phil Collins’ ‘the return of the real’ installation at the 2006 Turner Prize