Political Statement: Mark Wallinger Wins the Turner Prize UPDATED

Mark Wallinger, "State Britain," 2006
Photo © Tate 2006

It was brazen enough earlier this year when the Tate Gallery mounted Mark Wallinger's antiwar State Britain exhibition (taking a strong stance against British policy in Iraq) along the full length of its stately Duveen Galleries (above). To see more on that show, go here.

Now the government-subsidized museum has taken its effrontery a step further, bestowing on Wallinger its prestigious (often controversial) annual Turner Prize of £25,000, awarded to "an outstanding exhibition or other presentation by a British artist under 50." (Wallinger, who lost out 12 years ago to Damien Hirst, squeaks in at age 48.)

According to the Tate's announcement:

The jury commended its [State Britain's] immediacy, visceral intensity and historic importance. The work combines a bold political statement with art's ability to articulate fundamental human truths.

I doubt anything analogous to this direct challenge to government policy could happen at our federally funded Smithsonian Institution.

UPDATE: Martin Gayford of Bloomberg offers an enthusiastic appraisal of "State Britain" here.