1. Susan Philipsz, from Scotland but based in Berlin, records her own versions of pop songs and plays them in unlikely, out-of-the-way places.
Lowlands, 2010 (installation view).(I really like the idea behind this work. It made me think of an installation in one of the subway stations in New York a few years ago that involved a recording of crickets. I had completely forgotten about it — I only caught it a couple of times and I have no idea who was responsible for it — but it was so nice to be surprised by it late at night on my way home from work. Even though I'd generally associate the noise with nature and the outdoors it had the funny effect of making me more acutely aware of my immediate surroundings, and it transformed the moment into something special.)
2. Angela de la Cruz calls her creations "everyday paintings." She starts with monochrome canvases that she then rips, shreds, or otherwise mutilates and manipulates into sculptural form.
Still life (table), 20003. Dexter Dalwood makes "history paintings" with pop cultural references.
Death of David Kelly, 20084. Otolith Group, a London-based duo, create films and installations that work with "media archives, histories of futurity, [and] the legacies of non-alignment and tricontinentalism." I guess they had something in the Ecotopia Triennial at ICP a couple of years ago, but I don't remember it.
A Long Time Between Suns, 2009 (installation view).The finalists' work is scheduled to go on display at the Tate Britain on October 4, and the prize will be announced on December 6. You can see more photos of the artists' work here, and a complete list of past years' finalists and winners here — pretty fascinating. (The Telegraph and the Guardian are both cranky about this year's selection.)