‘Enigmatic and poetic’ work scoops Turner

Young artist wins £25,000 for her ‘contemporary visual art’ installation

The artist Helen Marten has scooped a £25,000 jackpot after she was named winner of the 2016 Turner Prize.

In a presentation, broadcast live by the BBC at London’s Tate Britain on Monday, Marten was praised for her “exceptional contribution” to “contemporary visual art”.

The jury described her portfolio of work, including Lunar Nibs, which was featured at the 56th Venice Biennale, and Eucalyptus Let Us In, her solo exhibition at Greene Naftali in New York, as “outstanding for its extraordinary range of materials and form”.

A spokeswoman for Tate Britain, which hosts the competition, added that the jury “admire the work’s poetic and enigmatic qualities which reflect the complexities and challenges of being in the world today”.

The London-based artist’s installation for the Turner Prize piece was divided into three sections, using handmade and found objects from daily life, including coins, cotton buds, shoe soles and eggs, as well as more unusual materials, such as snakeskin, to create a playful collage.

Other shortlisted artists Michael Dean, Anthea Hamilton and Josephine Pryde each received £5,000 for the work, which will be exhibited at Tate Britain until January 2 2017.

Accepting her prize from poet Ben Okri, 31-year-old Marten, who is the youngest of the four shortlisted artists, said she “wasn’t expecting” to win and that she could not think of “a more brilliant and exciting shortlist of artists to be part of”.

Pictures: PA. Helen says she was not expecting to win.