Mary Reid Kelley has been awarded the Baloise Prize for her film This Is Offal, which takes an intense, offbeat approach to the sensitive topic of female suicide. Echoing the tradition of the theater of the absurd, the film takes place in a morgue with the woman’s corpse laid out on a table. Crucial to the drama, staged in the film, is the dialogue between the woman’s ghost and her own organs and body parts: liver, heart and brain as well as severed foot and hand. The rhyming dialogue, rich in wordplay, explores the fact of death, the value of life and the role of human organs inside the body and in society. The decision of the jury was motivated not only by the innovative use of technology but also by the profound and entertaining way in which the artist addresses a socially charged issue.

In addition to the cash prize, Baloise acquires a group of works by the award winners and donates them to two important European museums. The works of Mary Reid Kelley were presented to the collection of the MUDAM Luxembourg, Musée d'Art Moderne Grand Duc Jean, Luxembourg.

Pilar Corrias Gallery

Jury members:
Marie-Noëlle Farcy, Curator/Head of Collection, MUDAM, Luxembourg; Sabine Schaschl, Director, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; Peter Gorschlüter, Deputy Director MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt a.M.; Dr. Yilmaz Dziewior, Director Museum Ludwig, Cologne and Martin Schwander, Fine Art Advisor of Baloise, Chairman of the jury.