There was a time when the judging of the Turner prize seemed almost credible. The jurors came from different backgrounds, beyond the pale of the gallery circuit. They travelled widely to look at the art they selected, viewing it in person and not just, as sometimes surmised, on a backlit screen. Above all, they had no conspicuous professional relationships with the quartet of nominees chosen as finalists.
But this year is startling. Only the most complacent insider could fail to be struck by the apparent conflicts of interest. Three of the six jurors are in charge of the very galleries where the shortlisted shows took place and a fourth served as a curator. A companionable tour of England (and who knows, perhaps not much further) may be imagined for the judging panel, stopping off at one another’s venues in London, Bristol and Milton Keynes.
