Jasleen Kaur won the Turner Prize for "Alter Altar"
Jasleen Kaur won the Turner Prize for "Alter Altar" AFP

Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur won the prestigious Turner Prize on Tuesday, as the UK contemporary art award celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Kaur was honoured for her solo exhibition Alter Altar, which includes an installation of a Ford Escort car with a giant doily on it.

She was announced the winner during a ceremony at the Tate Britain gallery in central London.

The 38-year-old pipped Philippines-born Pio Abad, Manchester-born Claudette Johnson and English artist Delaine Le Bas to the award.

Kaur walked away with GBP25,000 ($32,000), while the remaining shortlisted artists were awarded GBP10,000 each.

The five jury members chose Kaur for "her ability to gather different voices through unexpected and playful combinations of material".

During her victory speech she called for a ceasefire in Gaza and said "Free Palestine".

Established in 1984, the Turner is awarded each year to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work.

Previous victors include now-household names such as duo Gilbert & George, Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread, Antony Gormley, Chris Ofili, Steve McQueen and Damien Hirst.

British artist Jesse Darling won last year's prize for his sculptures and installations that invoke societal breakdown.

The annual award seeks to encourage debate around new advances in contemporary art and is given to a visual artist based or born in Britain.

But that debate has often spilled over into controversy. Ofili, for example, won in 1998 for incorporating elephant dung into his paintings.

Hirst in 1995 exhibited pieces including a rotting cow's head, while Tracey Emin's 1999 entry "My Bed" -- an unmade double bed with stained sheets surrounded by soiled underwear, condoms, slippers and empty drink bottles -- attracted huge attention.