Artist Duncan Campbell wins Britain’s prestigious Turner Prize for an essay film

Irish-born artist Duncan Campbell has won Britain's prestigious Turner Prize for an "essay film" in which he draws on an array of sources, including African art, the Irish Republican Army, dance and Marxism.

The annual award for contemporary art was presented on Monday to Campbell by actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, the star of , in a televised ceremony at Tate Britain, which oversees the often controversial prize.

The Turner winner gets £25,000 (HK$304,000), with £5,000 for each of the three runners-up - James Richards of Wales, Tris Vonna-Michell of England and Ciara Phillips, a Canadian living in Scotland.

Campbell, who also lives in Scotland, said winning that award was a "validation" of his work and he added that the prize money would certainly make a great difference in the life that he now lives. "The economics of what I do are not as great as say, a painter, so it does make a difference in terms of me being able to do what I do," he said.

Campbell is known for works tackling power structures and other complex issues, such as the relationship between Britain and Ireland.

His winning entry, "It For Others", uses a series of old and new footage, including a 1971 image of Joe McCann, sometimes called "the Che Guevara of the IRA", to show how images can be turned into various commodities of mass culture. The picture of McCann, who was shot dead by British soldiers less than a year after the photo was taken, became part of pop culture to the point where the image was emblazoned on T-shirts and Christmas stockings.