Jesse Darling announced as the winner of the Turner Prize 2023
By Mary Whitlock
Last week, Jesse Darling was announced as the winner of the Turner Prize 2023. The Berlin-based mixed-media installation artist won the £25,000 first prize with his exhibitions No Medal, No Ribbons (at Modern Art Oxford) and Enclosures (at Camden Art Centre), with the judges commending his “use of materials and commonplace objects… to convey a familiar yet delirious world invoking societal breakdown.”
The Turner Prize was conceived at the Tate Britain in 1984 and named after the British radical painter JMW Turner (1775-1851). Since then, it has been hosted in a number of local cultural institutions outside of the capital, this year being no exception. Towner art gallery (Eastbourne) is displaying Darling’s work, alongside that of the other shortlisted artists (Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker), from 28th September 2023 to 14th April 2024. The prize is the centre piece of the gallery’s ‘Towner 100’ centenary celebration.
The prize, seen as one of the most prestigious in Britain, is notorious for its divisive nature and aims to ignite public debate surrounding new developments in contemporary British art. This year, all four of the shortlisted artists developed themes exploring the political upheaval that has impacted peoples’ lives in Britain following Brexit and Covid-19. Critics had conflicting opinions of the shortlisted works, with Pilgrim’s work being described both as “often heartbreakingly beautiful” and “cold and stilted”. However, Darling and the other favourite, Walker, received near unanimous praise.
Jesse Darling, A familiar yet delirious world, 2023. Photograph: Angus Mill, via The Guardian.
Combining industrial materials with everyday objects, Darling’s work juggles themes of nationality, identity, bureaucracy and Brexit. Described as “darkly playful”, he incorporates broken rollercoaster rails, red-striped tape, lace doilies and Union Jack flags made from tea towels. Responding directly to the location of Eastbourne and other classically British seaside towns that have been neglected in recent years, he spoke about the visible effects of austerity and widening class divisions.
In his acceptance speech, Darling criticised Margaret Thatcher (Conservative Prime Minister, 1979-1990) for taking art out of schools because it wasn’t “economically viable”, saying that 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.”
After the rapper Tinie Tempah had awarded the prize in an event held last Tuesday (5th December), Darling said that he already has plans for how to spend the money: “I’ll get a new tooth put in, pay my rent and buy my friends a drink.”
For those of you who read our article two weeks ago by Calla Mitchell ‘Shortlist Announced for Turnip Prize 2023. But is it art?’, last Tuesday Mr Keep Calm was announced as the winner with his work ‘Party Gate’.
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