JEREMY
DELLER
TURNER
PRIZE 2004
The History of the World 1997-2004
Jeremy Deller is perhaps most famous for his
recreation of one of the most powerful moments of the Miners Strike in
1984, the Battle of Orgreave. But, itÕs to another piece of inspired performance
work that he is pointing with his giant wall drawing, The History of the
World 1997-2004, which covers the whole of the wall opposite the entrance
to the Turner Prize 2004 exhibition. For 1997's Acid Brass, Deller invited
a brass band to play reworked acid house anthems and his vast jumble of
words, phrases and arrows illustrates his thinking behind it. It traces
the links between the Acid House scene of the late 1980s and the traditional
brass band. Through the Miners Strike, de-industrialisation and privatisation
to advanced capitalism, civil unrest and press hysteria over ecstasy and
free parties the two become intertwined as they tell the tale of recent
working class history.
Banner from Jeremy Deller's Five Memorials, made by Ed Hall
On the facing wall, five small photographs show pieces of public art created or commissioned by Deller as tributes to moments or people now gone. From a bench in Belgravia for Brian Epstein to a banner for the Empire Windrush at Tilbury ferry terminal and plaque for a striking miner killed at Ferrybridge Power Station in 1984, they are honourably conceived and subtly carried out. The effect isnÕt overpowering, but the artistÕs mission to record and reflect on social and cultural history comes shining through. In much the same way A Social Parade, a film-piece recorded by children and teenagers from a San Sebastian video club, is a tribute to the spirit of the ordinary person. Members of low-profile societies, clubs and organisations in the Spanish town were invited to join a parade through its streets, with the video club interviewing them and recording their progress.
Jeremy Deller
A Social Parade 2004
Courtesy the artist, Art Concept, Paris, The Modern Institute,
Glasgow and GBE Modern, New York.
Photo: © 24 Hour Museum
But it is for another
film piece that Deller received his nomination. Memory Bucket was produced
during a residency in San Antonio, Texas and sees the artist turn his
attentions on the recent history of the state. He focuses on the politically-loaded
locations of Waco and George BushÕs hometown of Crawford, merging archive
shots with personal testimonies from the likes of siege survivor and the
owner of the PresidentÕs local diner. The sometimes moving, sometimes
humorous, scenes, flow into footage of a shop where a rack of rifles sits
behind a row of pastry cutters, an anti-Bush/anti war demo, Willie Nelson
performing and a re-telling of the story of the Alamo. Deller offers charged
moments, controversy, strongly-held beliefs and tender reminiscence, encapsulated
in the mythology of Texas. But the piece leaves us with a lingering shot
of three million bats emerging from a cave as the sun goes down.
Jeremy Deller.
Bats emerging from a cave 2003.
Production photograph from Memory Bucket. Courtesy the artist
. The work was clearly a vast undertaking and in bringing together events of seemingly great social and political consequence with an immense movement of nature he suggests the transience of human action and ultimately, memory. However, with his Turner Prize offering, Deller doesnÕt seem to be trying to dazzle us with his intellect, make us gasp at his ability or stand back in shock. He just wants us to think. At the centre of the room thereÕs a large desk, surrounded by chairs and carrying a number of books. They range from the Miners Strike in pictures, a tome on bats, Acid House and excerpts from Brian EpsteinÕs notebook to the much-talked about Hutton report into the death of Dr David Kelly. The table is like a Ōgo furtherÕ workstation, designed to heighten and continue the learning curve that Deller sets us off on. ItÕs a learning curve IÕd happily pursue in his company and with this in mind, it seems that DellerÕs Turner Prize offering is all about using art to educate.