Laure Prouvost Takes Turner Prize, Installation Artist Wins With 'Wantee'

In something approaching a shock result, Laure Prouvest was awarded with the 2013 Turner Prize, and the £25,000 that goes with it. American-Irish actress Saoirse Ronan announced the winner in Londonderry, Ireland, which is the UK’s City of Culture for 2013.

"I'm not ready, I didn't expect it at all," Prouvost said on stage."Four incredible artists here with me and the show. I thought 'It can't be me,' - I was sure it was not me. So thank you everybody," she added, according to The BBC.

Prouvoust lives in the UK, and graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins with a degree in Fine Art back in 2001. "Thank you for adopting me, thank you for having a French one here," said Prouvost, 35. "I've been here so many years and I feel adopted totally now by the UK, thank you."

Prouvoust won with an installation that included a video, which told the fictional story of the search for her grandfather. It was told in a strangely compelling grotto-style enclosure, which could only house 15-20 people at a time - this lead to queues while schoolchildren handed out tea and cakes.

Commenting on Prouvost's installation, judges said: "Building on personal memory, it weaves together fact, fiction, art history and modern technology. Using film in a completely contemporary way, she takes viewers to an inner world, while making reference to the streaming of images in a post-internet age."

In winning the prize, Prouvost beat out some strong competition in the form of David Shrigley and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye – two high-profile artists who were considered favourites for the gong. “You can't really be a surprise winner in a shortlist of four, but I think it's fair to say the general feeling had been it was a two-horse race - between Tino Sehgal and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye,” said the BBC’s arts editor, Will Gompertz.