Turner Prize shortlist revealed: Artist Heather Phillipson who installed whirl of whipped cream topped with cherry, drone and fly on Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is among four nominated for award

• Four artists were announced on the shortlist for the Turner Prize for a visual artist
• Heading the list is Heather Phillipson for Fourth Plinth whipped cream sculpture
• Others on the shortlist include  Ingrid Pollard, Veronica Ryan and Sin Wai Kin
• Tate Liverpool will host the award in December with a prize fund of £55,000

The artist behind the infamous Fourth Plinth whipped cream sculpture in London’s Trafalgar Square has been shortlisted for this year’s Turner Prize.

Heather Phillipson’s creation The End features a whirl of whipped cream topped with a cherry, a drone and a fly.

The British artist was also nominated for her solo immersive exhibition at Tate Britain titled Rupture No 1: Blowtorching The Bitten Peach, which the jury described as ‘overwhelming’ following lockdown.

The four-strong shortlist features Sin Wai Kin, nominated for their ability to bring fantasy to life through storytelling, drawing on their own experience of existing between binary categories.

Also in the running is Ingrid Pollard, whose nominated exhibition Carbon Slowly Turning questions our relationship with the natural world.

Heather Phillipson, the artist behind the whipped cream sculpture on the Fourth Plinth, has been shortlisted for this year’s Turner Prize

The drone perched on the cherry transmitted live video of crowds in the square, which people are able to view on their phones via a website.

The British artist was also nominated for her solo immersive exhibition at Tate Britain titled Rupture No 1: Blowtorching The Bitten Peach, which the jury described as ‘overwhelming’ following lockdown

She was commended for uncovering stories and histories hidden in plain sight in her work over the decades.

The final shortlisted artist is Veronica Ryan, praised for her new body of work which explores ecology, history and dislocation, as well as the psychological impact of the pandemic.

Phillipson’s giant dollop of whipped cream topped with a cherry, a fly and a drone baffled crowds in Trafalgar Square when it was unveiled in July 2020.

The drone perched on the cherry transmitted live video of crowds in the square, which people can view on their phones via a website.

Organisers described the bizarre sculpture as ‘monument to hubris and impending collapse’. Artist Phillipson reportedly chose whipped cream because it represents a luxury item that could collapse at any minute. It will be replaced in September 2022.

Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain and co-chair of the Turner Prize jury, said: ‘Art has provided much-needed enjoyment and escape over the past year but it has also helped to reconnect us with each other and the world around us, as the practices of the four shortlisted artists variously exemplify.’

‘I congratulate all four artists on their brilliant contributions and can’t wait to see their exhibition.’

Organisers described the bizarre sculpture as ‘monument to hubris and impending collapse’. Artist Phillipson reportedly chose whipped cream because it represents a luxury item that could collapse at any minute

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in December and an exhibition of their work will be held at the Tate Liverpool (pictured) from October 20, 2022 to March 19, 2023

Helen Legg, director of Tate Liverpool and co-chair of the Turner Prize jury, said: ‘The jury has travelled the length and breadth of the country, taking advantage of the easing of lockdown to enjoy the explosion of creativity that has emerged from the pandemic.

‘The result is a diverse group of artists, each with a singular vision, who impressed the judges with the intensity of their presentations, while also dealing with important issues facing our society today.’

This year the Turner Prize will be awarded at Tate Liverpool for the first time in 15 years.

Last year’s Turner Prize was won by Array Collective, whose projects include public artworks in support of the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland

The judging panel includes Irene Aristizábal, the Head of Curatorial and Public Practice at BALTIC, Christine Eyene, a research fellow at UCLan’s School of Arts and Media, Spike Island’s Robert Leckie, and Anthony Spira of the MK Gallery.

First established in 1984, the Turner Prize winner is awarded £25,000 with £10,000 going to each of the others shortlisted.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in December and an exhibition of their work will be held at the Tate Liverpool from October 20, 2022 to March 19, 2023.

Who are the shortlisted artists?

Heather Phillipson

The London-born artist is nominated for both her solo exhibition RUPTURE NO 1: blowtorching the bitten peach at Tate Britain and her infamous Fourth Plinth commission, THE END.

A talented musician on both the violin and piano. Phillipson won a London-wide poetry competition at the age of nine, but is best known for her artwork.

Her wide-ranging body of work involves the use of wildly different materials, media and gestures in what she calls ‘quantum thought experiments’.

The jury described the overwhelming experience of visiting her immersive Tate Britain commission after lockdown, and the transformative effect of her Fourth Plinth commission in Trafalgar Square.

They also ‘particularly applauded the audacious and sophisticated way Phillipson splices absurdity, tragedy and imagination to probe urgent and complex ideas’. 

Ingrid Pollard 

Pollard, who was born in Guyana and moved to Britain in the 1950s, is nominated for her solo exhibition Carbon Slowly Turning at MK Gallery, Milton Keynes.

Working primarily in photography, but also sculpture, film and sound, Pollard’s work ‘questions our relationship with the natural world and interrogates ideas such as Britishness, race and sexuality’.

The jury commended Pollard’s work which for decades has ‘uncovered stories and histories hidden in plain sight’.

They noted the bold new developments in Pollard’s recent work, especially a new series of kinetic, anthropomorphic sculptures, which build on Pollard’s career-long enquiry into the figure moving through space.

Veronica Ryan 

The Montserrat-born British sculptor is nominated for her solo exhibition Along a Spectrum at Spike Island, Bristol and her Hackney Windrush Art Commission in London.

Ryan’s works have involved creating installations using containers, compartments, and combinations of natural and fabricated forms to reference displacement, fragmentation and alienation.

The jury praised Ryan’s highly accomplished new body of work made during a residency at Spike Island, which ‘explores ecology, history and dislocation’, as well as the psychological impact of the pandemic.

The jury were struck by the ‘exquisite sensuality and tactility of her sculptures’, both in the gallery and for the public commission in Hackney.

Sin Wai Kin 

Sin, a Canadian visual artist, is nominated for their involvement in the British Art Show 9 and their solo presentation at Blindspot Gallery, Frieze London.

The non-binary designer, who is interested in performance art and drag artistry, brings fantasy to life through storytelling, moving image, writing, and print. 

The jury highlighted their film Dream of Wholeness in Parts 2021 in which ‘traditional Chinese philosophy and dramaturgy intersects with contemporary drag, music and poetry’.

The jury were impressed by the ‘boundary-pushing’ nature of Sin’s work, and how they ‘deftly translated the visceral quality of their live performances into film’. 

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