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UAL alumni nominated for Turner Prize 2022

A sculpture of an ice cream with a cherry in it on top of a plinth in Trafalgar Square
  • Written byUAL Press Office
  • Published date 13 April 2022
A sculpture of an ice cream with a cherry in it on top of a plinth in Trafalgar Square
'THE END' Heather Phillipson | © David Parry PA Wire

Yesterday, Tate Liverpool announced the 4 shortlisted nominees for its Turner Prize 2022. Out of the 4 nominees, 3 artists are University of the Arts London (UAL) graduates - Heather Phillipson, Ingrid Pollard and Sin Wai Kin.

This further strengthens the University’s connection with British art’s most high-profile award, having trained nearly half of all the winners and nominees in the 38 years since the awards began.

About the nominees

Ingrid Pollard

Ingrid Pollard is a 1985 graduate from BA Film and Video, London College of Printing (now London College of Communication, UAL).

Pollard's nomination is for her solo exhibition Carbon Slowly Turning at MK Gallery, Milton Keynes. Working primarily in photography, but also sculpture, film and sound, the exhibition builds on her career-long enquiry into the figure moving through space.

Ingrid Pollard wearing a white shirt and glasses
Ingrid Pollard | Photograph: Emile Holbar
A photo of Ingrid Pollard's installation
'Carbon Slowly Turning' Ingrid Pollard, MK Gallery | Photograph: Rob Harris

Heather Phillipson

Heather Phillipson completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Drawing in 2004 from Central Saint Martins, UAL, and is nominated for exhibitions at Tate Britain, London and her Fourth Plinth commission, THE END.

Phillipson’s wide-ranging practice involves collisions of wildly different materials, media and gestures. Her Tate Britain commission, Rupture No 1: blowtorching the bitten peach, reimagined the central Duveen galleries as a sequence of “charged ecosystems, maladaptive seasons and unearthed lifeforms”.

Heather Phillipson standing the studio surrounded by art and wearing a red dress.
Heather Phillipson | Photograph: Rory Van Millingen
A photo of Heather Phillipson installation in a blue and purple room
Tate Britain Commission: Heather Phillipson: RUPTURE NO 1: blowtorching the bitten peach | © Oliver Cowling, Tate Photography

Sin Wai Kin

Sin Wai Kin graduated in 2014 with a BA Drawing from Camberwell College of Arts, UAL.

They are nominated for their involvement in the British Art Show 9 and their solo presentation at Blindspot Gallery, Frieze London Sin’s work brings fantasy to live through storytelling in performance, moving image, writing and print. Their film Dream of Wholeness in Parts 2021 combined traditional Chinese philosophy and dramaturgy with contemporary drag, music and poetry.

“As a student Sin did drag performance outside their studies. The performance of identity started to emerge in their final year, mainly through sculpture installation, though I do recall a film that involved the seasoning of an omelette with glitter, that looking back, was surely a precursor of what was to come.

“In recent years, it's been great having Sin Wai Kin back, contributing to undergraduate fine art at Camberwell. Last year, they created a terrific one-day project brief for new first years, at the height of Covid restrictions, and in a follow-up discussion with students, was so articulate about the importance of experimentation and risk within the art education. Students were so encouraged by their work and what they had to say.”

Kelly Chorpening, Programme Director Fine Art: Undergraduate Camberwell College of Arts, UAL

Sin Wai Kin wearing a green shirt, in the background there are wigs on mannequin heads.
Sin Wai Kin | Photograph: Vic Lentaigne
A still from 'It's Always You'. There are four people against a green background wearing theatrical makeup and with brightly coloured hair.
Sin Wai Kin, It’s Always You, 2021, 4K dual channel video, 4’05”. Video still | Courtesy of artist and Blindspot Gallery.

About the Turner Prize

One of the world’s best-known prizes for the visual arts, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Established in 1984, the prize is named after the radical British painter JMW Turner (1775-1851). The Turner Prize winner is awarded £25,000 with £10,000 going to each of the others shortlisted.

An exhibition of work by this year’s shortlisted artists will be held at Tate Liverpool from 20 October 2022 to 19 March 2023. The winner will be announced in December at an award ceremony in Liverpool.