Nominees include Barbara Walker and Jesse Darling
The Turner prize shortlist has been announced with this year’s artists reflecting on the coronavirus and the Windrush scandal.
Tate Britain announced the nominated artists: Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker. Pilgrim reflected on the pandemic in collaboration with the community in Barking and Dagenham, east London, while Walker examined the impact of the Windrush scandal.
Rory Pilgrim
Pilgrim’s live performance at Cadogan Hall, along with his film commission Rafts at Serpentine Gallery and Barking Town Hall, were praised as “a standout example of social practice”.
Rory Pilgrim’s Rafts explores how climate change relates to “support structures in our everyday lives”
ANDRIESSEEYCK GALERIE
Barbara Walker
Walker’s drawings of Windrush survivors included facsimiles of the documentation the individuals had used to prove their right to remain. Her presentation Burden of Proof at Sharjah Biennial 15 was commended for its “profound tenderness and intimacy”.
Barbara Walker’s coal-drawn portraits of Britons affected by the Windrush scandal
Ghislaine Leung
The jury commended Leung for the “humorous” nature of her work and her commitment to challenging how art is produced. Her solo exhibition Fountains at Simian, Copenhagen, used baby monitors, child safety gates, toys and water fountains to question time, leisure and labour.
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Ghislaine Leung’s Hours at Simian, Copenhagen
Jesse Darling
Darling impressed with his use of sculpture and installations to “express the messy reality of life”, including the vulnerability of the human body and the precariousness of power structures. The jury felt his exhibitions No Medals, No Ribbons at Modern Art Oxford and Enclosures at Camden Art Centre exposed the world’s “underlying fragility”.
Jesse Darling’s No Medals, No Ribbons at Modern Art Oxford
Jesse Darling’s No Medals, No Ribbons at Modern Art Oxford
Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and chairman of the prize jury, said: “The Turner prize always offers the public a snapshot of British artistic talent today.
“These artists each explore the contrasts and contradictions of life, combining conceptual and political concerns with warmth, playfulness, sincerity and tenderness, and often celebrating individual identity and community strength.”
The other judges include Martin Clark, director of the Camden Art Centre; Cédric Fauq, chief curator of Capc musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux; Melanie Keen, director of Wellcome Collection; and Helen Nisbet, artistic director of Art Night.
An exhibition of the shortlisted artists’ work will be held at Towner Eastbourne, East Sussex, from September 28 until April 14 next year as part of the gallery’s centenary celebrations. The winner is announced on December 5.
The prize is named after the radical painter JMW Turner and is awarded each year to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work. The prize aims to promote discussion around developments in contemporary British art.
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