He may not have been around that long but Jeremy Deller‘s impact and importance since winning the Turner Prize deems him worthy of a bit of a mid-career retrospective at the Hayward Gallery this spring. All his well-known works will be represented here including videos, installations, posters, banners and performance pieces. His work is multifaceted, drawing on different mediums but all with one main focus: his joy in people.

Deller’s preoccupation with social history has made him into the Robin Hood figure of art – hosting re-enactments of working class battles or drawing attention to the eccentricities of people from the outer fringes of society. His physical absence from his work makes him a breath of fresh air in a profession that can often be ego-led. His work often verges on ethnographic recordings too, witnessing how people are – so it may not surprise you to hear that he was educated as an art historian rather than an artist. There’s lots going on in addition to the exhibition, with Q+A’s, themed talks and you even get the opportunity to party to some of Deller’s favourite tunes at his DJ night! The joy of People? A joy FOR the people! (Words: Laura Thornley, Image: courtesy of Jeremy Deller)