Simon Starling
Winner of the 2005 Turner Prize, Simon Starling is one of Scotland's most internationally acclaimed
artists. His works often consist of 'journeys' that reveal hidden relationships and histories through
the process of transforming one object or substance into another. In 2004 he accepted the first Cove
Park Commission and developed Autoxylopyrocycloboros: a major new project launched in summer 2006 that
focused on the history and geography of the Clyde Estuary. Autoxylopyrocycloboros involved Starling
sailing a small customised steamboat on Loch Long, fuelled by feeding the boat piece by piece into
the onboard woodburner until it finally sank. The project formed the basis of his solo exhibition
at Kunstverein Heidelberg in November 2006, and also for his work for the Cove Park Portfolio.
Using an image documenting the sailing, he has converted each archivally guaranteed giclee print,
into a unique work by applying a burning process to them. Based in Glasgow and Copenhagen,
Starling was one of three artists to show in Zenomap, Scotland's acclaimed presentation at
the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003; in 2004 he was nominated for the prestigious Hugo Boss
Prize in New York and in 2005 presented a major solo exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland.