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At 28, Rene Matić, from Peterborough, is the second-youngest nominee in Turner Prize history (after 1995 winner Damien Hirst). Mixed-race and non-binary, Matić has assembled photos, banners, dolls and sounds that illustrate the artist's grapples with their place in modern Britain, as modern Britain grapples with its own identity. It's an "obsession with understanding Britishness, or not understanding it", as Matić puts it. The first thing visitors see is a photo of a St George's flag hanging in a London pub window above a sign saying "Private party". It sends an unintentional but unwelcoming message that encapsulates a bigger picture, in Matić's eyes. The artist "primarily works with photography and their work talks about identity, society and a sense of belonging", exhibition curator Jill Iredale says. There is a jumble of more snapshots from Matić's life - sweaty clubbers, kissing couples, Gaza and Black Lives Matter protests, graffiti, parties. Meanwhile, a giant flag says "No room" on one side and "for violence" on the other - a wry reference to the hypocrisy the artist feels can be present in politicians' words.
