Jesse Darling awarded 2023 Turner Prize for ‘delirious’ art

The 2023 Turner Prize has been awarded to Jesse Darling, who was praised for how his art using unconventional materials conveyed a “familiar yet delirious world”.

The Oxford-born artist, who lives in Berlin, received the prestigious art award at Winter Garden in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

The award, established in 1984 and named after painter J M W Turner and worth £25,000, was presented by rapper Tinie Tempah.

Darling, 41, is known for his work with unconventional materials such as welded barriers, hazard tape, office files and net curtains.

He turned a full-sized roller coaster into the skeletal form of a woolly mammoth.

Accepting the prize, Darling declared that art “is something that a lot of the public can get behind” and explained it helps develop other skills.

He claimed former prime minister Margaret Thatcher lessened the teaching of art in schools because it was not “economically productive”.

He added: “She sort of paved the way for the greatest trick that the Tories ever pulled, which was to convince the working people of Britain that study, self-expression, and what the broadsheet supplements describe as culture, is only for particular kinds of people from particular socioeconomic backgrounds, and I just want to say don’t buy in, I’m talking to the public, I’m talking to the British public, don’t buy in, it’s for everyone.”

Darling’s exhibitions are described by the Turner Prize as conveying a “familiar yet delirious world” that “unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power”.

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Darling beat Ghislaine Leung, who had an exhibition featuring water pouring into the exhibition space through an opening in the ceiling; Rory Pilgrim, who delivered a live performance at Cadogan Hall in London; and Barbara Walker, who shone a light on families affected by the Windrush scandal.

The prize will mark its 40th anniversary next year and return to Tate Britain for the first time since 2018.

An exhibition of the Turner Prize shortlisted artists will be at Towner Eastbourne, the hosts of this year’s prize, until 14 April next year.