PHOTOS: Eastbourne Gallery Exhibiting Artwork Of Four Turner Prize Nominees

The Towner, Eastbourne will be exhibiting the artwork of the four Turner Prize 2023 nominees from now until April 14.

The prize, named after English painter J. M. W. Turner is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist.

It is awarded at Tate Britain every other year, with different venues outside London hosting the event in alternate years - this year it'll be held at Eastbourne's Towner, with the winner announced on December 5.

The prize has been running since 1984 and has become the UK's most publicised art award, with prize money now totalling £40,000.

Controversy has surrounded the event in the past, mainly due to its exhibits, which have included Damien Hurst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (a shark in formaldehyde) and Tracey Emin's My Bed (an unmade bed).

The exhibition is FREE but advance online booking is recommended, which will give visitors priority access during busy times.

You can visit without booking in advance but may need to wait at peak times.

The four nominees are Jesse Darling, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Barbara Walker:

Jesse Darling

Jesse Darling, Turner Prize 2023 at Towner Eastbourne. Photo by Angus Mill.

Jesse Darling works in sculpture, installation, video, drawing, sound, text and performance, using a ‘materialist poetics’ to explore and reimagine the everyday technologies that represent how we live. Nominated for his solo exhibitions No Medals, No Ribbons at Modern Art Oxford and Enclosures at Camden Art Centre, Darling now takes cues from Towner’s coastal location, bringing together new and recent works in an installation that explores borders, bodies, nationhood and exclusion.

Ghislaine Leung

Ghislaine Leung, Public Sculpture, Turner Prize 2023, Towner Eastbourne. Photo by Angus Mill.

Ghislaine Leung’s practice takes a critical look at the conditions of art production, its presentation and circulation. Leung was nominated for her solo exhibition Fountains at Simian, Copenhagen, including works developed through a process of art making that results in ‘score-based artworks’. The ‘scores’ are text-based instructions or descriptions that are realised by the gallery team in close conversation with the artist. At Towner, pieces include a working fountain and a baby monitor installed in the art store, broadcasting live to the exhibition space.

Rory Pilgrim

Rory Pilgrim, Turner Prize 2023, Towner Eastbourne. Photo by Angus Mill.

Rory Pilgrim is a multidisciplinary artist working across song writing, composition, films, texts, drawings, paintings and live performances. Pilgrim was nominated for the commission RAFTS at Serpentine and Barking Town Hall, and a live performance of the work at Cadogan Hall, London. The RAFTS film presented at Towner is a seven-song oratorio narrated by eight residents of Barking and Dagenham from Green Shoes Arts, reflecting on what the symbol of a raft means to them through song, music and poetry. Timed screenings of RAFTS and RAFTS: Live are presented alongside paintings, drawings and sculptures that expand on this theme.

Barbara Walker

Barbara Walker, Turner Prize 2023, Towner Eastbourne. Photo by Angus Mill.

Barbara Walker works in a range of media and formats, from embossed works on paper to paintings on canvas and large scale drawings. Walker was nominated for her presentation entitled Burden of Proof at Sharjah Biennial 15. In this body of work, Walker brings careful attention and visibility to individuals and families affected by the Windrush scandal. The exhibition at Towner features large scale charcoal figures drawn directly onto the gallery wall and a series of works on paper, featuring portraits of people impacted by the scandal layered over hand-drawn reproductions of documents that evidence their right to remain in the UK.