Jesse Darling has been awarded the Turner Prize 2023. The £25,000 prize was announced in a ceremony presented by musician, creative and broadcaster Tinie Tempah at Eastbourne’s Winter Garden, adjacent to Towner Eastbourne, the hosts of this year’s prize.
In her review of the Turner Prize exhibition, Salena Barry writes about Darling’s work that it explore the rough, blemished side of communities, ‘which, especially when considered in a nationalistic sense, can be alienating and destructive.’ Darling’s installation for the Turner prize, including the sculptures made of pedestrian barriers and welded steel Come On England (2023), ‘considers the aftermath of Brexit,’ Barry writes, and ‘contemplates how national policies can damage the communities they are meant to serve.’
The jury for the prize was composed of Martin Clark, director, Camden Art Centre; Cédric Fauq, chief curator, Capc musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux; Melanie Keen, director of the Wellcome Collection in London; and Helen Nisbet, CEO and artistic director, Cromwell Place, London. The jury was chaired by Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain. The jury commended all four nominated artists – Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker – for their presentations, and how their practices are ‘grounded in the realities of the world today, often giving voice to themes of uncertainty and vulnerability.’
The Turner Prize exhibition remains on view at Towner Eastbourne through 14 April 2024.
