‘What a moment’: Veronica Ryan wins Turner Prize for work including Hackney Windrush sculptures

Veronica Ryan with her sculptures on the Narrow Way. Photograph: Julia Gregory

Artist Veronica Ryan has won the prestigious Turner Prize for work that includes a series of striking sculptures in Hackney celebrating the Windrush generation.

Ryan’s bronze and marble sculptures of Caribbean fruit were unveiled near St Augustine’s Church on the Narrow Way last year.

The custard apple, breadfruit and soursop artworks were inspired by Ryan’s childhood visits to Ridley Road Market in Dalston.

Accepting her £25,000 prize at a ceremony in Liverpool, Ryan paid tribute to her family and the people who have “looked out” for her throughout her career.

Judges praised “the personal and poetic way [in which] she extends the language of sculpture”.

They said her recent work uses “interconnecting themes such as displacement, healing and loss”.

The Hackney sculptures pay tribute to those who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean between the late 1940s and 1970s, including those who arrived on the ship Empire Windrush in 1948.

They were commissioned by Hackney Council in 2020 “as a permanent symbol of honour, respect and commitment to the Windrush Generations, their legacy and contribution to life in Hackney”.

It was the first time in the UK that a piece of art had been commissioned to celebrate the Windrush generation.

Carole Williams, the cabinet member for Windrush, said: “Veronica Ryan’s submission to the Hackney Artwork Commission stood out from the outset and I couldn’t be happier that the judges have awarded Veronica the Turner Prize. I’m so pleased for her. What a moment.”

Ryan said previously: “I used to come shopping with my mum in the Ridley Road Market. It’s about fruit and veg that’s part of the local community, the local diet.

“I chose this particular group [of fruits] because I liked the textures, I wanted them to be interesting to engage with. They are not the same surface textures as well.”

She said she wanted people to enjoy them: “These works belong to the local community. I want the sculptures to be family. Children could wander round and sit on them.

“It’s really wonderful that I could come to this street and make art which respects history.”

The sculptures are funded by the Art Fund, the Henry Moore Foundation, and the Alison Jacques and Paula Cooper galleries.

The second Hackney Windrush sculptures commissioned by the council, Warm Shores by Thomas Price, were unveiled outside Hackney Town Hall on Windrush Day this summer.

Cllr Williams added: “We hope the sculptures help to expand the story of Windrush to the wider community and create awareness in younger generations about Windrush and Black history, which belongs to everyone.

“Residents and visitors alike should come see both Veronica and Thomas J Price’s historic artworks. They are both landmarks of national significance, highlighting the importance and relevance of the Windrush Generation to Hackney and beyond.”