The Turnip Prize: A Retrospective

The Turnip Prize is a spoof UK art award satirising the less well known Turner Prize. Originally inspired by Tracey Emin’s 1999 Turner Prize-shortlisted ‘My Bed’, the Turnip Prize aims to celebrate the best of the worst of contemporary art. Every year, locals send in their least inventive creations to the judges in the village of Wedmore in Somerset, who then have the dubious honour of choosing the winner. From “Poo Tin’ (a tin filled with poo, topped by am image of Vladimir Putin), to “Ewe Kip” (a toy sheep having a nap), the Turnip Prize pays particular attention to the quality of the art’s punning title, and to evidence of a ‘considerable lack of effort’. The winner is awarded a turnip impaled on a rusty six-inch nail.

Including 40 images of entries from throughout the prize’s not-so-illustrious history, The Turnip Prize: A Retrospective features pontificating critical analysis of each piece by Royston Weekz, FRSA, along with insightful comments from the competition judges (such as, ‘Complete b*ll*cks’). The ultimate gift for art-lovers and art-establishment sceptics alike.