Oxford-born artist Jesse Darling wins Turner Prize

Jesse Darling, 41, who was born in Oxford and now lives in Berlin, received the £25,000 art award at Winter Garden in Eastbourne, East Sussex, for the exhibition of his work in the past 12 months.

His award-winning display was described as conveying a "familiar yet delirious world" that "unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power".

His display included a full-sized roller coaster turned into the skeletal form of a woolly mammoth.

His sculptures made up of faded union jack bunting and metal pedestrian barriers were shown in two places.

No Medals, No Ribbons was at Modern Art Oxford in Pembroke Street and Enclosures was at Camden Art Centre.

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Mr Darling claimed that 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.

"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.”

Oxford-born artist Jesse Darling has won this year's Turner Prize. (Image: David Parry/PA Wire)

Previous winners of the Turner Prize include pottery maker and contemporary artist Sir Grayson Perry, film director and visual artist Sir Steve McQueen and artist Damien Hirst.

The host of this year's prize was British rapper Tinie Tempah.

Mr Darling pulled the Palestinian flag out of his pocket and waved it amid the conflict in Gaza and Israel, at the end of his acceptance speech.

Born in Oxford in 1981, Darling studied at Central Saint Martins at the University of the Arts London and completed a masters in fine art at University College London’s Slade School of Fine Art in 2014.

He works across sculpture, installation, video, drawing, sound, text and performance – and in 2021 released a collection of poetry, called Virgins.

The 2023 Turner Prize jury, chaired by Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson, included Martin Clark, director of Camden Art Centre, and Cedric Fauq, chief curator of Capc musee d’art contemporain de Bordeaux.

Oxford-born artist Jesse Darling has won this year's Turner Prize. (Image: PA)

Melanie Keen, director of London museum Wellcome Collection, and Helen Nisbet, chief executive and artistic director at gallery Cromwell Place, were also among the judges.

The award goes to an artist born or based in the UK, for an outstanding exhibition or presentation of their work in the past 12 months.

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 is at Towner Eastbourne until April 14, 2024.