Judges praise 'visceral intensity' of artist who once dressed as a bear
To learn more: www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/
Charlotte Higgins, arts correspondent
Tuesday December 4, 2007
In The Guardian
It was the man in the bearsuit who won it: Mark Wallinger, 48, was awarded the Turner prize last night, 12 years after he was first nominated but lost to Damien Hirst. His film Sleeper, 154 minutes of him wandering around a deserted German gallery disguised as a bear, but recognisable by his very particular gait, has baffled and entranced visitors to the Turner prize exhibition by turns.
The prize was officially given not for Sleeper, but for State Britain, his meticulous re-creation of Brian Haw's anti-war protest in Parliament Square. That was praised by the judges for its "immediacy, visceral intensity and historic importance", combining "a bold political statement with art's ability to articulate fundamental human truths".
The prize was awarded at a ceremony last night at Tate Liverpool - the first time outside London in its 23-year history - by actor, director and Easy Rider star Dennis Hopper. Accepting, Wallinger praised Haw's "tireless campaign against the folly and hubris of our government's foreign policy". He added: "Bring home the troops. Give us back our rights. Trust the people."
State Britain was the worthy winner, he believed: "It was the best thing that was shown this year, and I don't think I should be humble about it."
He added: "I think it's regrettable that people have been so quiescent about what the Serious Organised Crime Act has done to people who want to demonstrate. It is against Magna Carta, and that was produced in 1215, before democracy. It's important these freedoms are fought for and preserved."
Haw professed himself delighted with Wallinger's win, saying he and the artist "shared the same heart" - despite Haw having told him "politely to piss off' when first approached. Asked whether he would share the prize money with Haw, Wallinger said "what I do with the prize money is my business".
Wallinger was favourite to win in an uneven contest which saw Wallinger and Mike Nelson, also nominated before, in 2001, pitched against photographer and film-maker Zarina Bhimji and Glasgow sculptor Nathan Coley.
State Britain, on show between January and September this year at the Duveen galleries at Tate Britain, London, was by far the most overtly political work in contention. Wallinger remade Haw's peace camp in every detail: from the tea-making area to banners, flags, photos and posters amassed by Haw and his supporters.
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It took 14 people six months to source the materials and age them to authenticity in Wallinger's studio in the Old Kent Road, south-east London. It cost him £90,000 to make, and the commission paid £3,000, so in a curious irony the £25,000 Turner prize will recoup at least a fraction of the cost of making the work, now in storage, but to be shown in Paris and Switzerland next year.
The work had piquancy, as Haw's protest, begun in 2001, was largely dismantled on May 23 2006, following the passing of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act forbidding unauthorised demonstrations within a kilometre of Parliament Square. That exclusion zone, taken literally, bisected Tate Britain, and part of State Britain fell within its border.
Wallinger's best-known work is perhaps Ecce Homo, a statue of Christ that occupied Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth during 1999.
For the Turner prize exhibition at Tate Liverpool he chose Sleeper, first seen at the 2005 Venice Biennale. There was controversy about his decision to show a single, two-year-old work, rather than a new piece, but Sleeper has never been seen before in the UK. The film shows Wallinger, in a bear suit, wandering around in a darkened space in the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Wallinger made multiple references: the bear is a symbol of Berlin, but also alluded to the cold war and history of "sleeper" spies.
Wallinger was born in 1959 in Chigwell, Essex, the son of a fishmonger who later worked in life insurance. He studied at Chelsea School of Art and at Goldsmiths, and lives in London. He has said: "I think art needs to engage the viewer and has to have a hook that isn't entirely cerebral ... I like Velázquez, Manet, Warhol - realists that held up a mirror to their society that was radical, but not pedantic."
The Turner prize is awarded for the best exhibition by a British or Britain-based artist in the 12 months preceding the May nominations. Each of the shortlisted artists receives £5,000.
· The Turner prize exhibition continues at Tate Liverpool until January 13. A retrospective of the previous prizes is at Tate Britain, London until January 6.
The prize was officially given not for Sleeper, but for State Britain, his meticulous re-creation of Brian Haw's anti-war protest in Parliament Square. That was praised by the judges for its "immediacy, visceral intensity and historic importance", combining "a bold political statement with art's ability to articulate fundamental human truths".
The prize was awarded at a ceremony last night at Tate Liverpool - the first time outside London in its 23-year history - by actor, director and Easy Rider star Dennis Hopper. Accepting, Wallinger praised Haw's "tireless campaign against the folly and hubris of our government's foreign policy". He added: "Bring home the troops. Give us back our rights. Trust the people."
State Britain was the worthy winner, he believed: "It was the best thing that was shown this year, and I don't think I should be humble about it."
He added: "I think it's regrettable that people have been so quiescent about what the Serious Organised Crime Act has done to people who want to demonstrate. It is against Magna Carta, and that was produced in 1215, before democracy. It's important these freedoms are fought for and preserved."
Haw professed himself delighted with Wallinger's win, saying he and the artist "shared the same heart" - despite Haw having told him "politely to piss off' when first approached. Asked whether he would share the prize money with Haw, Wallinger said "what I do with the prize money is my business".
Wallinger was favourite to win in an uneven contest which saw Wallinger and Mike Nelson, also nominated before, in 2001, pitched against photographer and film-maker Zarina Bhimji and Glasgow sculptor Nathan Coley.
State Britain, on show between January and September this year at the Duveen galleries at Tate Britain, London, was by far the most overtly political work in contention. Wallinger remade Haw's peace camp in every detail: from the tea-making area to banners, flags, photos and posters amassed by Haw and his supporters.
Weather
It took 14 people six months to source the materials and age them to authenticity in Wallinger's studio in the Old Kent Road, south-east London. It cost him £90,000 to make, and the commission paid £3,000, so in a curious irony the £25,000 Turner prize will recoup at least a fraction of the cost of making the work, now in storage, but to be shown in Paris and Switzerland next year.
The work had piquancy, as Haw's protest, begun in 2001, was largely dismantled on May 23 2006, following the passing of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act forbidding unauthorised demonstrations within a kilometre of Parliament Square. That exclusion zone, taken literally, bisected Tate Britain, and part of State Britain fell within its border.
Wallinger's best-known work is perhaps Ecce Homo, a statue of Christ that occupied Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth during 1999.
For the Turner prize exhibition at Tate Liverpool he chose Sleeper, first seen at the 2005 Venice Biennale. There was controversy about his decision to show a single, two-year-old work, rather than a new piece, but Sleeper has never been seen before in the UK. The film shows Wallinger, in a bear suit, wandering around in a darkened space in the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Wallinger made multiple references: the bear is a symbol of Berlin, but also alluded to the cold war and history of "sleeper" spies.
Wallinger was born in 1959 in Chigwell, Essex, the son of a fishmonger who later worked in life insurance. He studied at Chelsea School of Art and at Goldsmiths, and lives in London. He has said: "I think art needs to engage the viewer and has to have a hook that isn't entirely cerebral ... I like Velázquez, Manet, Warhol - realists that held up a mirror to their society that was radical, but not pedantic."
The Turner prize is awarded for the best exhibition by a British or Britain-based artist in the 12 months preceding the May nominations. Each of the shortlisted artists receives £5,000.
· The Turner prize exhibition continues at Tate Liverpool until January 13. A retrospective of the previous prizes is at Tate Britain, London until January 6.
Mark Wallinger beside his installation, State Britain, at Tate Britain earlier this year. Photograph: Cathal McNaughton/PA
To learn more: www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/
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