Tomma Abts has been made the bookmakers' favourite for the award

This German artist, born in 1967, is nominated for her "intimate and compelling canvases", which "build on and enrich the language of abstract painting", according to the competition organisers.

They have singled out her solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Basel in Switzerland and London's Greengrassi gallery.

Ms Abts insists everything she creates must measure 48 x 38 cm (19 x 15 in) and begins every piece with no idea of what she is about to do.

Her work has been described as "disturbingly weird" by the Guardian newspaper, which noted that she finds the titles for each painting in a dictionary of German first names.

Phil Collins (not pictured) is known for his video They Shoot Horses

Phil Collins, 35, is based in Glasgow and specialises in creating videos and photographs of people in places of conflict.

The organisers praised the way he encourages his subjects to "reveal their individuality, making the personal public with sensitivity and generosity".

In Ramallah, he paid nine young Palestinians to take part in an eight-hour disco-dancing marathon for a piece called They Shoot Horses.

He has also filmed Iraqis silently auditioning for a non-existent Hollywood film and invited people in a Basque region of Spain to undress in a luxury hotel as part of a discussion on democracy and beauty.

Titchner is inspired by everything from pop lyrics to philosophy

The 33-year-old from Luton creates paintings, light boxes, animations and sculptures that include slogans from evangelical literature, musical lyrics, political manifestos and advertising campaigns.

He has made a series of giant billboards for the Gloucester Road underground station in west London.

A separate project invited people to shout into a contraption that translated their sound waves into ripples on a tray of water.

Organisers say Mr Titchner has worked across "a wide range" of media, and "continues to interweave a vast array of references from pop lyrics to philosophy".

Rebecca Warren has been praised for her "sensual physicality"

She is nominated for her sculptural installations, which have been at the centre of solo exhibitions at New York's Matthew Marks Gallery and Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne.

Ms Warren has also contributed to the Tate Triennial exhibition in London, which celebrates new developments in the art world.

Turner organisers say she combines "a wide range of sources with a strong formal awareness, injecting conventional materials with a sensual physicality to create something wholly new".