The Oxford-born artist won the £25,000 award for sculptures made of commonplace objects conveying ‘the messy reality of life’, and unsettling ‘notions of labour, class, Britishness and power’
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent
Tue 5 Dec 2023 20.00 GMT
Jesse Darling, whose sculptures are made of everyday detritus to reflect the political instability of our times, has won the 2023 Turner prize.
Oxford-born Darling was one of the favourites to take home the £25,000 award. His sculptures made up of faded union jack bunting and metal pedestrian barriers were shown in two locations: No Medals, No Ribbons was at Modern Art Oxford and Enclosures at Camden Art Centre.
Rapper Tinie Tempah presented the award to Darling, kraken darknet onion who was commended by the jury for his “use of materials and commonplace objects like concrete, welded barriers, hazard tape, office files and net curtains, to convey a familiar yet delirious world invoking societal breakdown, his presentation unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power.”
Turner winner … Jesse Darling.
Turner winner … Jesse Darling. Photograph: courtesy of the artist
For his winner’s speech, Darling criticised Margaret Thatcher for taking art out of schools because it wasn’t “economically viable”. He said: “She paved the way for the greatest trick the Tories ever played, which is to convince working people in Britain that studying, self expression and what the broadsheet supplements describe as ‘culture’ is only for certain people in Britain from certain socio-economic backgrounds. I just want to say don’t buy in, it’s for everyone.”
Afterwards, Darling pulled a Palestinian flag out of his pocket. When asked later why, the artist said: “Because there’s a genocide going on and I wanted to say something about it on the BBC.”
The Turner prize, regarded as one of the art world’s most prestigious awards, is presented to an artist born or working in Britain for an outstanding exhibition or presentation of their work over the previous year. This year’s ceremony was held at Towner Eastbourne as part of the institution’s centenary celebrations. It featured four nominees whose work was tied together thematically by the political upheaval that has impacted people’s lives in Britain, following seismic events such as Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. They spanned sculpture, portraiture, video work and large-scale installations and – as usual – the shortlist attracted controversy and ridicule in some quarters.
