2. Jake & Dinos Chapman – Nominees, 2003
The subversive wit and black humour that pervades the Chapmans’ works was undercut by the craftsmanship and painstaking labour evident in their execution; after all they are expert draftsman, engravers, model-makers and wood carvers – and can even make journalists cry. An ability that had the stuckist movement – ‘a conservative group of artists who react against contemporary conceptual art’ – out in droves that year to demonstrate against the prize. The duo were nominated for their usually overt works in 2003, but missed out to favourite Grayson Perry.