Turner Prize winner Jasleen Kaur is set to reveal her first permanent public artwork next month, marking a significant milestone in the acclaimed artist's career. The ambitious sculpture, titled "Was.Is.Will.Be," will be unveiled on November 28 in Thamesmead, a historic housing development in southeast London. The artwork will be permanently installed at Southmere Lake in Cygnet Square, adding to the area's growing collection of public art.
The project is being funded by Peabody, a nonprofit housing association that has taken on the responsibility of redeveloping and regenerating the Thamesmead area. In an innovative approach to community involvement, five local residents of Thamesmead have been included as part of a new creative studio that helped select Kaur's work. Among these resident-collaborators are filmmaker Comfort Adeneye and painter Gonzalo Fuentes, both artists in their own right who bring local perspective to the project.
Several organizations have partnered to bring this ambitious project to life, including the creative agency Studio Danmole, the public art consultancy Company, Place, and youth culture specialist Joseph Gray. This collaborative approach reflects a broader commitment to ensuring that public art resonates with the communities it serves.
Reflecting on the community involvement in her project, Kaur expressed her enthusiasm for the collaborative process on the Thamesmead website. "I love that they, as residents and artists in their own right, have a stake or claim to a public artwork being planned for their area as it goes through an immense period of change," she wrote. According to the project statement, Kaur's sculpture will feature "fragments of local conversation permanently embedded into the landscape," with a striking visual element that draws "the eye to the words horses are here written high in the sky."
Kaur's installation is part of a broader cultural strategy implemented by Peabody to enrich the Thamesmead community through public art. Other notable works commissioned for the area include "Thamesmead Codex" (2021) by the collaborative duo Bob and Roberta Smith, which consists of 24 placards that document conversations held by local residents. Additionally, the artist duo Ackroyd & Harvey will contribute to this cultural renaissance by planting a circle of seven oak trees later this year at Crossway Park in Thamesmead, a project directly inspired by Joseph Beuys' influential work "7000 Oaks – City Forestation Instead of City Administration" (1982-87).
Thamesmead itself carries significant historical and cultural weight, having once been heralded as "the town of the future." Constructed during the 1960s on reclaimed marshland, this large-scale housing project was designed to help address London's severe housing shortage. The development became known for its distinctive Brutalist architecture, featuring blocks of low-rise housing that created a unique urban landscape. The area gained international recognition when it served as the atmospheric backdrop for Stanley Kubrick's controversial 1971 film "A Clockwork Orange."
Kaur's artistic vision has been deeply shaped by her personal background and cultural heritage. Growing up as a Sikh in Glasgow, where her family operated hardware and cash-and-carry stores, these experiences form the foundation of her artistic practice. Her breakthrough work, which helped secure her Turner Prize victory, was a striking installation featuring a red Ford Escort draped with an enormous cotton doily. The car's sound system blasted an eclectic mash-up of pop, hip-hop, and qawwali devotional music, creating a powerful commentary on cultural identity and integration. This installation was displayed as part of the Turner Prize exhibition at Tate Britain last year.
Beyond her artistic achievements, Kaur has demonstrated a commitment to social and political causes. During the Turner Prize ceremony, she used her platform to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, publicly voicing her support for demonstrators who had gathered outside the institution. This act of advocacy reflects her belief in art's power to address contemporary social issues and her willingness to use her artistic success to amplify important causes.
