Laure Prouvost is a French multimedia artist (Lille, 1978) living and working in Antwerp. In her work, she examines the relationship between the contemporary viewer and the past using modern technology. She studied at Central Saint Martins in London between 1999 and 2002, and then continued her studies at Goldsmiths College. During her early years in London, she worked as an assistant to John Latham, a conceptual artist known for his studies on the relationship between art and science. Prouvost, whose art combines collages, installations and experimental film, considers Latham as her ‘conceptual godfather’.
Through her work, Prouvost seeks to destabilise the relationship between language and understanding by using familiar stories in her films to engage the viewer and reverse expectations by incorporating other irrelevant narratives into this surreal visual landscape.
Prouvost is represented by the MOT International gallery. In 2011, she received the Max Mara Prize for Women and in 2012 she was awarded the Turner Award for her film ‘Wantee’, commissioned by the Grizedale Arts program and Tate Britain. The film tells the fictional story of the artist’s grandfather, a conceptual artist and close friend of Kurt Schwitters. The film is named after the habit of Schwitters’ partner of asking their guests if they ‘want tea’.
