Flags, wars and fantasy kingdoms: Turner Prize artists show us their worlds

The Turner Prize exhibition opens this weekend at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, part of the UK City of Culture, showcasing four artists who have taken over the gallery spaces with distinct and immersive installations. The show runs through 22 February, and the prize will be awarded on 9 December.

Rene Matić, 28, from Peterborough, is among the youngest nominees in Turner Prize history. Matić, who identifies as mixed-race and non-binary, uses photography, banners, dolls and sound to explore contemporary British identity. The installation Understanding Britishness, or Not Understanding It, centers on scenes from the artist’s life, including a St George’s flag in a London pub and a large flag bearing the phrases No room on one side and for violence on the other. The work also features a cabinet with 45 second-hand black dolls, and a broader montage of Gaza, Black Lives Matter protests, club scenes and moments of intimacy. Exhibition curator Jill Iredale notes the works prompt reflection on representation, belonging and how national narratives are performed.

Zadie Xa, based in London with Canadian-Korean roots, has created an immersive space that invites visitors to remove their shoes before stepping onto a reflective gold floor. Xa’s cloth patchwork paintings use the bojagi technique to form stained-glass‑like scenes drawn from Korean folk art and ocean life. Shells hang from the ceiling, and 665 small traditional bells are arranged in a shell motif. A muffled soundtrack of voices, gongs and birds heightens the sense of entering another realm. Critics have lauded the installation as among the most sensually alluring in the group and described it as transportive and expansive.

Nnena Kalu presents large, multi-coloured sculptures wrapped in bright ribbons, string and torn cardboard, suspended in mid‑air or clustered with wall drawings that swirl like whirlwinds. The drawings and sculptures appear as three‑dimensional renditions of each other, linking two‑ and three‑dimensional forms. Kalu, a learning-disabled artist who has been a resident with Action Space for more than 25 years, is celebrated for bursts of energy and colour that carry through the room. The Guardian’s Adrian Searle praised the work as riotous and rhythmic and said Kalu deserves to win the Turner Prize.

Mohammed Sami’s The Hunter’s Return is a vast canvas depicting a war zone with toppled trees, craters and a fiery sky. Green military laser beams bite through the smoke, and the painting’s scale invites viewers to step into the landscape as if entering a battlefield memory. Sami’s other large paintings emphasize the aftermath of conflict without depicting people or specific battlefields, focusing instead on atmosphere and ruin. Critics have described Sami’s painting as a stark, gripping statement on contemporary conflict, with the Telegraph’s Alastair Sooke calling it an instant-classic history painting.

The Turner Prize exhibition at Cartwright Hall in Bradford draws praise from critics for offering a wide-ranging snapshot of contemporary art. The Times’ art critic described the quartet as four very different artists providing an intriguing snapshot of contemporary art, while the Telegraph’s reviewer noted a bewildering medley of materials and approaches across the installations. The exhibition is part of Bradford’s status as the current UK City of Culture and runs through 22 February, with the winner announced on 9 December.

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