Tanoa Sasraku nominated for the Turner Prize

Installation view, Tanoa Sasraku: Morale Patch, ICA, London, 2026

Vardaxoglou is delighted to announce Tanoa Sasraku has been nominated for the Turner Prize for her solo exhibition ‘Morale Patch’ at Institute of Contemporary Arts, London.

There will be an exhibition at Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), on view from 26 September – 29 March 2027.

Tanoa Sasraku’s practice encompasses sculpture, drawing and filmmaking. Her work is rooted in the material and symbolic properties of land via landscapes, pigments, and minerals, and informed by a personal relationship to textiles and pattern making.

Tanoa Sasraku (b. 1995, Plymouth, UK) graduated from Goldsmiths (2018) and Royal Academy Schools (2024). Recent solo exhibitions include, 'Morale Patch', ICA, London, UK (2026); 'Man Engine', Vardaxoglou, London (2023); ‘Liths’, Peer, London, UK (2023); 'Tanoa Sasraku', Vardaxoglou, London (2022); ‘Terratypes’, Spike Island, Bristol (2022).

Recent group exhibitions have taken place at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR (2025); Abbot Hall Museum, Kendal, UK (2025); Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, UK (2025); Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (2024); Drawing Room, London (2023); Venice Architecture Biennale, Venice (2023); Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, Newlyn (2023); Tate Liverpool, Liverpool (2022); Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry (2022); Goldsmiths CCA, London, UK (2022); John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, UK (2019); Tate St Ives, UK (2019).

Tanoa Sasraku’s works are held in the Arts Council Collection, UK; The Government Art Collection, UK; and The Box, Plymouth, UK.

Nominated for her solo exhibition Morale Patch at The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London. The exhibition explores geopolitical ideas through object-like sculptures, works on paper and film. The exhibition focuses on recent political and military histories of oil through a highly conceptual installation that borrows from the visual language of the corporate world. The jury praised the precision and sophistication of the installation, noting how it addresses complex historical issues with strong contemporary resonances, and its use of a clinical, minimalist display that conveys both irony and seriousness.

One of the world’s best-known prizes for the visual arts, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Established in 1984, the prize is named after the radical painter JMW Turner (1775-1851) and is awarded each year to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work. The Turner Prize winner will be awarded £25,000, with £10,000 awarded to the other shortlisted artists.

Tate Britain frequently works with museums and galleries across the UK to bring the Turner Prize to the widest possible audience. Since 2011, the exhibition has been staged in Gateshead, Derry-Londonderry, Glasgow, Hull, Margate, Coventry, Liverpool, Eastbourne and Bradford. The prize is a pillar of Tate’s dynamic programme of national partnerships, which also includes exhibition tours, research projects, and the lending of hundreds of artworks to UK venues, where they are seen by over 3 million people a year.

Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain and Chair of the Turner Prize Jury, said: “It is a privilege to announce this outstanding shortlist – congratulations to all four nominated artists. The Turner Prize continues to offer the public a compelling reflection of the breadth and vitality of contemporary British art. This year’s selection presents a rich and diverse range of work, spanning installation and performance, and with a strong emphasis on sculptural practice. Each artist invites us into carefully constructed scenarios, both real and imagined, that offer distinct perspectives through which to explore the world around us, and to reflect on our place within it.”

Dr Laura Sillars, Director at MIMA and Dean of Culture and Creativity at Teesside University, said: “This shortlist promises an extraordinary Turner Prize exhibition at Teesside University’s cultural heart, MIMA. We all look forward to working with the artists over the coming months in Middlesbrough, a place with a strong and growing cultural confidence. As the first Turner Prize within a university setting, this moment creates a special context, where contemporary art can inspire discussion, dialogue and new ways of thinking.”

The members of the Turner Prize 2026 jury are: Sarah Allen, Head of Programme, South London Gallery; Joe Hill, Director & Chief Executive, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Sook-Kyung Lee, Director, The Whitworth and Professor of Curatorial Practices at The University of Manchester and Alona Pardo, Director, Arts Council Collection, UK. The jury is chaired by Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain.