Kingston Upon Hull has been tipped by the bookies to win the Turner Prize for Irony this year.
The famed port city and its people have been shortlisted for ironically depicting a city of culture in 2017.
This year’s award has been given an additional title of ‘outstanding idiocy in the visual arts’, which has pushed the bookies to stop taking bets on Hull taking the title.
The annual award, which is being held in the city this year, is given to a British born or based visual artist. However, this year the judging panel were given special dispensation to include the entire city as one entity for the award.
In an exclusive interview with the Rochdale Herald, Chief Executive of the Turner Prize, Martin Green, had this to say:
“We’ve been lacking big controversial pieces in recent years. We believed that Hull would put the prize back in the spotlight for this exact reason.”
He continued to explain that the prize has not seen anything as controversial as this before. “I mean, we thought the The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, and My Bed were pushing the boundaries of controversy and for being just plain w**kstains on the soiled mattress of art history, but Hull Trumps them all.”
Hull is currently the UK City of Culture for 2017. Works carried out to gain the city the prestigious status included tightening the nuts and bolts on the Humber Bridge, cleaning the viewing glass at The Deep aquarium, replacing the smell of fish with bleach and fabreeze, and unfurling a flag about how teenage pregnancy rates aren’t as high as they used to be.
Liam Garrigan, Casualty actor and former Hull council estate e-list celebrity is one of the few people to hail from the city who isn’t obese or has type two diabetes. He is also the ambassador and face of the city of culture promotions.
“We’re generally known for being thick, getting knocked up early, being violent and a bunch of unemployed scrubbers. I’ll tell you this for nowt though, the drunks and chavs in the Princess Elizabeth playing fields have been on their best behaviour. Only one car was burnt out last week, but we just told the judging panel it was part of the installation of the city for the Turner Prize”
Not all are impressed with Hull though. We spoke to one person on the streets about how they were embracing the city of culture. Herring Seasmith from Grimsby recently visited the city, after accidentally crossing the Humber Bridge and getting lost. “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. And I don’t chuffing like Hull!”
Hull is a city on the up however, and is hoping to bag another award soon. It has been nominated for the best heroin supplies in the drugs and alcohol awards (‘sharpies’ category).
If it wins both awards it is expected to fetch nearly £40 in prize money to the city, and a voucher to use at any Little Chef over in North Lincolnshire.
