William Bacon wins the People's Choice Award for the 2023 Robert Walters UKNA Prize

William Bacon captured by Tom Morley at 2023 Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award

Artist William Bacon has won the People’s Choice Award for his ‘Confetti’ series in the 2023 Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award, in collaboration with Saatchi Gallery.

William Bacon was one of ten shortlisted artists selected for the annual Robert Walters UK New Artist of the Year Award. The prestigious national award sets out to discover and champion exceptional artists who are representative of contemporary Britain, organised by global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, leading arts charity UK New Artists (UKNA) and renowned contemporary art platform Saatchi Gallery.

Out of a possible 1,600 entries, 10 exceptional shortlisted artists exhibited their work at the Saatchi Gallery on 9 November 2023 with works addressing the theme ‘The Journey of Self-Actualization: Exploring the Illusion of Greener Grass and the Pursuit of the Dream'. The exhibition was presented in a virtual gallery between 10 November 2023 and 10 December 2023 and the public had the opportunity to vote online for their favourite artist.

William Bacon secured the majority of the People’s Choice votes cast for his artwork titled ‘Confetti’ and has earned a future opportunity with UK New Artists as his prize.

'Confetti' features three artworks; the first, '1 million twenty times' is created from a hundred discarded National Lottery scratch cards. All of them being non-winning cards, the piece becomes a distortion of possibility. The second piece, ‘Confetti’ is a collection of shavings left behind after a scratch card has been scratched - gathered in the last three years from found and donated cards. These foil-like remnants represent fleeting moments of hope. The final part of the installation is titled ‘Loot Box’. Similar to slot machines or scratch cards, Loot Boxes are purchased in computer games with real-world money, without knowing what’s inside. 'Loot Box' highlights the blurred lines between virtual expectations and tangible outcomes, questioning how digital perceptions impact our physical reality.

William Bacon said:

"It is extremely validating as an early-career artist, to know that my artwork was voted Robert Walters Group People's Choice Award. This recognition gives me an added sense of confidence going into 2024 to continue working hard at my practice and making increasingly ambitious work. I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote – it truly means a lot to receive such encouraging feedback."

Michelle Bowen, Director of UKNA, said:

‘’We would like to congratulate William on winning the People's Choice Award. The virtual exhibition received a fantastic response from the public, with William's artwork emerging as a popular favourite. We look forward to working with him again in the future.''

The overall prize for the 2023 Robert Walters UK New Artist of the Year Award was won by Sofia Laskari and the runner-up recipient was Kim Thompson. 2023 Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of The Year Award finalists artists were:

Click here to find out more about the UK New Artist of the Year Award

About William Bacon:

William Bacon (b.1993) is a British artist who works primarily with found objects that interrogate the traces of modern culture. His scratchcard works, made from non-winning collections of users cards, contemplate on the formation of pseudo-languages through gesture, repetition and anonymity.

He obtained his BA Hons in Fine art at the Manchester Metropolitan University where he was awarded the 5Plus Creative New Talent Award (2016). Recent exhibitions include; Vignette’s and Pathways’ – Crownpoint Studios, Glasgow 2021 and a solo exhibition at The Cut, Suffolk 2020. He is currently based in Oxford where he maintains a studio practice. He is shortlisted for the 2023 Dentons Art Prize.

UK New ArtistsDecember 12, 2023M4, RW Award