Oxford-born, Berlin-based multidisciplinary artist Jesse Darling has won the Turner Prize, considered the UK's most prestigious artistic honor and accompanied by a grant of £25,000. Darling, who has said that her work is based on “the effects of austerity, Brexit and the pandemic” and the “hostile environment” of immigration policy, investigates themes of work, class and power, as well as Britishness through a practice covering sculpture, installation, text and drawing. Typically using cheap and easily obtained materials, Darling is best known for his body-like sculptures. “If the post-Internet era uses new technologies to position itself as a unique and irreparable rupture with the past, Jesse Darling's practice situates this movement within the theological foundations and legacy of modernism's progress,” wrote Charlie Markbreiter in “Artforum ” in 2018.
Darling won for the exhibitions “No Medals, No Ribbons” at Modern Art Oxford and “Enclosures” at the Camden Art Centre. He beat a list that also included Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker.
Darling received the award yesterday at a ceremony chaired by rapper Tinie Tempah at Eastbourne's Winter Garden. The “Guardian” reported that he criticized former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in her acceptance speech, noting: “She paved the way for the greatest trick the Conservatives have ever pulled, which is to convince working people in Britain that , study, self-expression and what newspaper supplements describe as 'culture' is only for certain people in Britain, from certain socio-economic backgrounds. I just want to say don’t believe it, it’s for everyone.”
When asked later about the meaning of the action, he replied: “You have to love something to be able to criticize it”, he concluded. “This is my country after all; It's our country. I want the best for this.” Darling said he planned to spend the prize money on a new tooth, rent and drinks for his friends.
An exhibition of work by all four selected artists will be on display at the Towner Eastbourne until 14 April 2024.
Source: Artforum