Jeremy Deller

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Jeremy Deller (born 1966) is an English artist.

He was born in London and studied the history of art at the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Deller is best-known for his Battle of Orgreave (2001), a recreation of the actual Battle of Orgreave which occurred during the UK miners' strike in 1984.

Deller was winner of the Turner Prize in 2004 for his installation Memory Bucket (2003), a documentary about Crawford, Texas – the hometown of George W Bush – and the siege in nearby Waco.

He is currently involved in a touring exhibit of contemporary British folk art, in collaboration with Alan Kane. www.folkarchive.co.uk

Much of Dellers work is collaborative and raises questions about ownership. For example, how does a privately educated London boy successfully represent the 'Battle of Orgreave'? By acting as a channel for the experience of the people, rather than impressing his art practice or personality upon the situation. This gives his work a political element, not just in the subjects dealt with, but in the questioning of artist as creative ego (which essentially is individualist and capitalist in nature). Value is questioned by touring 'peoples art', with Folk Archive, which is outside of the contemporary art institution. Much of Dellers work also avoids commodification by its empheral nature.