Surprise surprise, Jesse Darling wins the Turner Prize

There could only be one, and it was clear from the start – last night, Jesse Darling was awarded the 2023 Turner Prize and its £25,000 cash prize. The other shortlisted artists, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker were each awarded £10,000. And this morning, I returned to the bookies to collect my crisp £20.

The Turner Prize is one of the most prestigious art awards in the world. It’s awarded annually to one artist born or based in the UK, for an outstanding exhibition or presentation of their work in the past twelve months. The award ceremony itself is a big affair in the art world calendar, with the cream of the art world in attendance and VIP hosts. This year, the rapper Tinie Tempah presented the award to Darling at Eastbourne’s Winter Palace, near to Towner Eastbourne, where this year’s shortlisted artists are currently exhibiting their work.

Darling, who was born in Oxford and now lives and works in Berlin, was nominated for his 2022 exhibitions ‘No Medals, No Ribbons’ at Modern Art Oxford and ‘Enclosures’ at Camden Art Centre. He was commended by the jury for his use of everyday materials and objects to convey, “a familiar yet delirious world. Invoking societal breakdown, his presentation unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power.”

When I visited the Towner Eastbourne back in September, I felt that the art on show was “a poor imitation of the discourse of recent years,” but of all the artists I thought Darling the strongest. I was captured by his sculptural installation that filled an entire room of the gallery with fake museum display cases, phallic hammers wrapped in delicate dried flowers, dishcloth union jacks, concrete-filled ring binders and wild, bucking crowd control barriers. There was a simple directness to his work – crude humour, lack of dignity and violence wrapped in delicateness – it speaks to a society in crisis, a country weighed down and falling to pieces, where you can’t trust the RAAC concrete roof above your head.

Darling made his mind known in his acceptance speech. He criticised the austerity politics that have led to cuts to the arts Britain. He named Margaret Thatcher, saying “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.”

Darling’s defiantly political sculpture follows a few strange years where it seemed like the prize was losing its way, and its edge. In 2019, the nominated artists shared the prize and split the money. The next year, the prize was cancelled and the money was distributed as Covid pandemic bursaries. In 2021 art objects were sidelined in favour of collective social practices. It seems now that the Turner Prize is returning to business as usual.

An exhibition of Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim, Barbara Walker and Jesse Darling’s work runs at the Tower Eastbourne until 14th April, 2024. The exhibition is curated by Noelle Collins, the exhibitions and offsite curator at Towner Eastbourne. The exhibition coincides with Tower 100 and Eastbourne Alive, a special programme of public art, dance, music and events across Eastbourne to mark he centenary of the Towner Eastbourne.