Introduction to Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin is a British artist known for making works that convey experiences and events from her own life by using a range of media, from needlework and drawing, to sculpture and installation. Her works can often be sexually provocative and their stories are revealed with a raw openness, which has often sparked debate

Until she was seven Emin lived in a Margate hotel owned by her Turkish-Cypriot father. Her nostalgia for the English seaside town is often present in her work.

Emin was part of the Young British Artists group which took the art world by storm with their controversial take on contemporary art in the late 1980s. Other YBAs included Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst.

Emin’s oeuvre spans drawings, tapestries, embroidery, film, bronze sculptures, neon signs and wooden constructions. Despite this variety, she consistently maintains a quality to her work which makes it clearly hers. Personal monologue is an important thread which runs through all her work.

Emin draws on her own experience to inform her work, this ranges from her sexual history, abuse and abortion to gender and relationships. As she explained in an interview:

And talking specifically about using the bird as her motif, Emin had this to say:

In 1999 Emin was nominated for the Turner Prize. Despite receiving a huge amount of media attention for her piece My Bed, it was actually Steve McQueen who went on to win the Turner Prize 1999 for his film and video works.

Aside from this notorious artwork, Emin is known by many for her giant tapestries with honest and provocative words sewn onto them. She has also produced a large body of drawings, many of which show women masturbating or having sex.

Is she a great artist?

In this article originally published in Tate Magazine issue 1, Something’s wrong sees Melanie McGrath set out to discover Emin.

Early life

Starting with the opening message on the answerphone of the Tracey Emin Museum, listen to Emin’s reasons for establishing the museum and how she feels it puts a roof over her own creativity, whilst formalising and making visible a practice that includes ephemeral, flimsy and time-based, rather than solid and monumental elements.

At the time of the recording Emin was displaying a series of drawings which referred to the period of her life between thirteen and fifteen years old, when she lived in Margate. This recording ends with a monologue by the artist recounting her early life in Margate:

On writing a book

In this 1994 interview from the Cologne Arts Fair, Emin discusses Exploration of the Soul – a work that comprises framed sheets of blue A4 notepaper on which Emin has written a poetic text recounting significant moments in her life up until the age ofthirteen. Emin begins talking around 6.30 minutes into the recording:

Art shaped by family experiences

In this interviewed by William Furlong in May 1997 during Emin’s exhibition I Need Art Like I Need God, this recording sees Emin elaborating on the title of the exhibition – relating the work to early family experiences in Margate and responding to issues raised of spirituality, mysticism and every-day experience. Other themes explored during the interview include: continuing references to her own body, the importance of personal friendships and writing as the backbone in my work:

Emin on gender equality in the art world

Emin has often expressed her admiration for artist’s Egon Schiele and Edvard Munch:

Published in Tate Etc. Summer 2005 issue, Frida on my mind sees Emin directly discuss Frida Kahlo’s work.