24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Mr Bear, Mark Wallinger, Wins The 2007 Turner Prize
By 24 Hour Museum Staff
04/12/2007
Image: a photograph of a gallery with placards with various slogans on them
Mark Wallinger, State Britain at Tate Britain has won the 2007 Turner Prize.
Mark Wallinger has won the Turner Prize 2007 for his installation at Tate Britain, State Britain, a direct representation of the anti-war banners and paraphernalia of Brian Haw's protest in Parliament Square.
The prize was presented at Tate Liverpool by award-winning actor, director and art collector, Dennis Hopper, in an evening ceremony on Monday December 3 2007 and broadcast live on Channel 4 News.
The jury commended Wallinger's work for its "immediacy, visceral intensity and historic importance". The work combines a bold political statement with art's ability to engage with social issues.
Wallinger, who said winning the prize had been an extremely painful experience, first made the shortlist in 1995 but lost out to Damien Hirst. "I am indebted to all those people who contributed to the making of State Britain," he added.
It is thought that 15 people helped him recreate Haw's protest - in the minutest detail - from the banners to the tarpaulin shelter that Haw camped out in. Haw began his protest against economic sanctions in Iraq in June 2001 but was finally removed by police in May 2006 after an Act of Parliament was passed prohibiting demonstrations within a 1km radius of Parliament Square.
Mark Wallinger, Sleeper, 2004-5. Video still. Tate. Presented by Tate Members 2006
The Turner Prize is being held at Tate Liverpool this year as a curtain-raiser for Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
It is the first time since it began in 1984 that the prize has been staged outside London and more than 45,000 visitors have filed through the galleries of Tate Liverpool to see the work of the four shortlisted artists.
However, for the Turner Prize exhibition at Tate Liverpool, Wallinger chose a rather different piece of work - a film of himself wandering around a Berlin gallery dressed as a bear.
The Turner Prize 2007 has been supported by Arts Council England, Liverpool Culture Company, Northwest Regional Development Agency, Milligan and Tate Members. With the support of the sponsors, this year's prize fund was £40,000 with £25,000 going to the winner.
The other artists on the shortlist, Zarina Bhimji, Mike Nelson and Nathan Coley, each received £5,000.
Turner Prize 2007 runs at Tate Liverpool until January 13 2008. The prize will return to Tate Britain in 2008.
Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4BB, Merseyside, England
Open: Tues-Sun and Bank Holiday Mondays 10.00-17.50
June, July & August:
Mon-Sun (including Bank Holiday Mondays) 10.00 - 17.50
Closed: Closed 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan and Good Fri
Related Articles
News In Brief - Week Ending August 10 2008
Oh Vienna! Gustav Klimt And His World At Tate Liverpool
News In Brief - Week Ending February 10 2008
Week Beginning January 7 2008 Must-See UK Exhibitions Listed On 24 Hour Museum
Damien Hirst Donates Pickled Cow And Other Major Work To Tate
Turner Prize 2007 - Like A Dead Snail Say Unimpressed Stuckists
The Turner Prize 2007 Exhibition Opens At Tate Liverpool
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Anson Engine Museum Displays The Award Winning JCB Dieselmax
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Mountain Rescue Gear Moves Star Mummy To Leeds' New Museum
Holocaust Survivors Help Imperial War Museum Launch New Holocaust Art Exhibition
Museums Libraries And Archives Get Cultural Olympiad Off To Flyer
Volunteers Looking For Stone Circle Uncover Roman Fort In Cumbria
New Darwin Centre Set To Welcome 2,500 Visitors Per Day
County Durham Launches Peace And Tranquility Week
Disability And Deaf Arts Get A Boost At 2008 DaDaFest International
3,500 Properties Open Doors To Public For Heritage Open Days 2008
British Library Acquires Dering Roll - A Who's Who Of Medieval Arms
The Rolling Stones Tongue And Lips Logo Acquired By The V&A
Nominations Open For Art Fund Prize For Museums And Galleries 2009
Belfast's Ulster Museum On Track For Dramatic New Rooftop Gallery
Brighton Art Gallery Stunned As US Artist Broken Crow Is Deported
Treasures Of National Media Museum To Be Posted On Flickr
Missing Brontë Letter Returns To The Brontë Museum In Haworth
Danish Artists Create Life-Size Walking House For Wysing Arts Centre Near Cambridge
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.