{"id":1792098,"date":"2026-02-25T13:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T10:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792098"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T10:50:00","slug":"the-da-zed-guide-to-tracey-emin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1792098","title":{"rendered":"The dA-Zed guide to Tracey Emin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/528\/1-3-528-352\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438751.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/art-photography\/article\/69743\/1\/the-dazed-guide-to-tracey-emin-tate-modern-yba\" data-article-id=\"69743\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.47\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Why I Never Became a Dancer (1995)\" class=\"img\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/534\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438751.jpg\" width=\"534\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-02-25T13:50:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"25 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"25\">25,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - art-photography\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\">Art &amp; Photography<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/da-zed-guides\">dA-Zed guides<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\">Art &amp; Photography<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/da-zed-guides\">dA-Zed guides<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>The dA-Zed guide to <span class=\"nowrap\">Tracey Emin<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>As a landmark exhibition traces 40 years of her work at Tate Modern, we explore the life and work of the YBA who never fails to provoke (for better or <span class=\"nowrap\">for worse)<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-25T13:50:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"25 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"25\">25,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-02-25T13:50:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"25 February 2026\"><span class=\"month\">February<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"25\">25,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/ThomWaite\">Thom Waite<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-12-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">Tracey Emin, A <span class=\"nowrap\">Second Life<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/0\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin My Bed&#160;(1998)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438749.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/1\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I whisper to My Past... (2010)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438747.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/2\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I am The Last of my Kind (2019)\" class=\"img\" height=\"1311\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-1967-1311\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438744.jpg\" width=\"1967\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/3\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I followed you to the end (2024)\" class=\"img\" height=\"1318\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-150-1978-1318\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438745.jpg\" width=\"1978\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/4\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I never asked to Fall in Love... (2018)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-541-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438746.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/5\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s been there \" class=\"img\" height=\"955\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/600-593-1432-955\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438748.jpg\" width=\"1432\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 12 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>For decades, the British art scene has looked on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tracey-emin\">Tracey Emin<\/a> as one of its most iconic and divisive figures. Her confessional artworks are practically unparalleled for their raw vulnerability and ability to express a turbulent emotional landscape that \u2013\u00a0let\u2019s be honest \u2013\u00a0most Brits have a hard time coming to terms with in private, never mind sharing it on a national stage. But that\u2019s exactly what Emin has done, refusing to compromise amid her meteoric rise from art school upstart to certified star, whose works have graced walls everywhere from the Royal Academy to (controversially) 10 Downing Street.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This month, Tate Modern will host a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/whats-on\/tate-modern\/tracey-emin\"><span>landmark exhibition<\/span><\/a><span> spanning 40 years of Emin\u2019s work. Across painting, video, textiles, writing, sculpture, and installation, a few themes emerge again and again over the course of those four decades, including love, trauma, and the female body as a site of both passion and pain. A brush with death after she was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/52709\/1\/tracey-emin-has-never-been-so-happy-following-dramatic-cancer-surgery\"><span>diagnosed<\/span><\/a><span> with an aggressive form of cancer in 2020 \u2013\u00a0referenced in the title of the Tate show, <\/span><em><span>A Second Life <\/span><\/em><span>\u2013 lends an added sense of perspective, and in interviews, the artist has spoken about the after-effects of the resulting surgeries with her typical, unfiltered candour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But it would be a mistake to see Emin\u2019s art as an act of pure self-exploration (or even self-indulgence). Whether or not you relate to her works on a personal or political level, we surely all stand to benefit from the kinds of frank discussions they spark about life, creativity, and what it means to be human. With that in mind, we dive deep into Emin\u2019s life and art in the dA-Zed guide below.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"00ddc5b4-9472-4c65-9870-b3fb016586ce\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438749.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.31\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin My Bed&#160;(1998)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2284\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438749.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin <span class=\"nowrap\">My Bed\u00a0(1998)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2026, Courtesy\u00a0The Saatchi Gallery, London \/ Photograph by Prudence Cuming <span class=\"nowrap\">Associates Ltd<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"a is for autobiography\"><span>A IS FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>For Emin, the line between public and personal has always been thin,\u00a0or maybe non-existent. This was evident from her first solo show,\u00a0where she exhibited personal photos alongside memorabilia from notable events in her life, including a pack of cigarettes that her uncle was allegedly holding when he was decapitated in a car crash.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"b is for bed\"><span>B IS FOR BED<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Obviously&#8230; <\/span><em><span>My Bed <\/span><\/em><span>(1998) is probably Emin\u2019s best-known artwork, shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999. Inspired by a depressive, drunken, four-day reclusive period following a breakup, it quite literally consists of an unmade bed, complete with cigarette butts, condoms, and underwear stained with menstrual blood. Many critics were outraged when it was first exhibited, and middle-aged men up and down the country were heard claiming: \u201c<\/span><em><span>I <\/span><\/em><span>could exhibit my unmade bed!\u201d But they didn\u2019t, did they? And that\u2019s why they won\u2019t go down in art history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Emin had previously refused to sell work to the ad man and art collector Charles Saatchi, because of his advertising for Margaret Thatcher. As the stories go, though, she was convinced to sell him <\/span><em><span>My Bed<\/span><\/em><span> for \u00a3150,000 in 2000, later <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theartnewspaper.com\/2021\/08\/19\/thatcher-and-tampons-how-tracey-emin-came-to-sell-her-unmade-bed-to-charles-saatchi\"><span>saying<\/span><\/a><span>: \u201cThat meeting changed everything for me\u2026 The sale of the bed was my deposit for a house. Something I never dreamt would be possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"c is for croydon\"><span>C IS FOR CROYDON<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Emin was born in the South London borough in 1963, to a Turkish Cypriot father and a mother of Romani descent, although she was raised in the seaside town of Margate, which exerted\u00a0a much bigger influence on her life and work. That said, Emin has recently returned to Croydon \u2013\u00a0alongside other London boroughs such as Walthamstow and Tower Hamlets \u2013 for a neon-themed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/press\/press-releases\/tracey-emin-takes-over-london\"><span>billboard campaign<\/span><\/a><span> that accompanies\u00a0<\/span><em><span>A Second Life<\/span><\/em><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"fb0501fc-6ac9-4457-90ff-b3fb0165a4e2\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438755.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.5\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, A Second Life billboard, Shoreditch (2026)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438755.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, A Second Life billboard, Shoreditch <span class=\"nowrap\">(February 2026)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Tate and Jack Arts (part <span class=\"nowrap\">of BUILDHOLLYWOOD)<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"d is for drawing\"><span>D IS FOR DRAWING<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Drawing is an often-underacknowledged part of Emin\u2019s oeuvre, despite playing a significant role in her practice alongside printmaking, a medium that she studied at Maidstone College of Art in the mid-80s. Stylistically indebted to artists like Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele, her gestural drawings often feature nude figures, exploring subjects like sexuality and shame. \u201c<\/span><span>Some of my favourite drawings I have done with my eyes closed,\u201d she told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2009\/may\/25\/tracey-emin-drawing-art\"><em><span>Guardian<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>in 2009, \u201cor so drunk I do not remember making them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"e is for enfant terrible (... or establishment)\"><span>E IS FOR ENFANT TERRIBLE (&#8230; OR ESTABLISHMENT)<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Even in a scene dominated by larger-than-life figures like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/damien-hirst\">Damien Hirst<\/a>, Gavin Turk, and Sarah Lucas, Emin was known as Britart\u2019s <\/span><em><span>enfant terrible<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 a label that often reduced her complex, conceptual works to acts of provocation or \u201cattention seeking\u201d. Today, though, she\u2019s more likely to be described as a \u201cnational treasure\u201d than an unruly rebel. In 2024, she was even awarded a DBE, after receiving a CBE in 2013. So actually, it\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Dame <\/span><\/em><span>Tracey Emin, to the likes of us.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"f is for fire\"><span>F IS FOR FIRE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In the early 2000s, Tracey Emin was an established figure in a red-hot art scene that included Hirst, the Chapman brothers, Gary Hume, and Chris Ofili. Maybe too hot, in fact. In 2004, Charles Saatchi\u2019s east London-based Momart warehouse, which contained more than 100 of their works, burned down, wiping out a significant portion of art history. Among the lost artworks was Emin\u2019s famous appliqu\u00e9 tent, <\/span><em><span>Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963\u20131995<\/span><\/em><span> (1995). \u201c<\/span><span>This news comes between Iraqi weddings being bombed and people dying in the Dominican Republic in flash floods \u2013 so we have to get it into perspective,\u201d she stated at the time. \u201cBut I am really gutted. I just thank God no one was hurt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"8e65626c-d5a3-4840-bb88-b3fb0165a0c9\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438754.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"squarish\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.91\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"squarish\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Is This a Joke (2009)\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438754.jpg\" width=\"2718\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, Is This a <span class=\"nowrap\">Joke (2009)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"g is for girlhood\"><span>G IS FOR GIRLHOOD<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>\u201cA lot of people are really derogatory about my work and say it\u2019s just art that something like a teenage girl would make,\u201d Emin told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/films\/features\/tracey-emin-growing-up-is-hard-to-do-5351460.html\"><em><span>Independent<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> in 2004, in an interview about her only feature film, <\/span><em><span>Topspot<\/span><\/em><span>. \u201cWell, yeah, it is, because I\u2019m still stuck in a teenage world, part of me is still there. I\u2019m still dealing with those issues and a lot of people always are.\u201d Throughout her career, the artist has been candid about what she means by teenage \u201cissues\u201d, citing instances of abuse, violence and sexual assault in Margate. This has often informed interpretations of her art.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"h is for hangman books\"><span>H IS FOR HANGMAN BOOKS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In the 80s, Emin studied at what was then known as Medway College of Design, where she met Billy Childish, an expelled student and member of the punk poetry group the Medway Poets. During her studies, followed by a printmaking course at Maidstone Art College, she was in a relationship with Childish and worked for his small confessional poetry press, Hangman Books. It was an emotionally turbulent time, but she would later <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stuckism.com\/emin.html\"><span>describe<\/span><\/a><span> it as one of the biggest influences on her life.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"i is for illness\"><span>I IS FOR ILLNESS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2020, Emin was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The treatment required the removal of her bladder and several other organs, and required a stoma (a hole in her abdomen) to drain urine. During the treatment, she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/51321\/1\/tracey-emin-says-art-kept-her-alive-during-her-cancer-battle\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>: \u201cI think my art, my love of everything, and my passion is what\u2019s kept me alive in the last few months.\u201d Since then, she\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/52709\/1\/tracey-emin-has-never-been-so-happy-following-dramatic-cancer-surgery\"><span>spoken<\/span><\/a><span> openly about the illness and its physical repercussions, as well as how it changed her outlook on life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"e9c8acc6-62d8-45b7-99d0-b3fb016575cc\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438746.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.18\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I never asked to Fall in Love... (2018)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2544\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438746.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, I never asked to Fall in Love \u2013 You made me Feel like <span class=\"nowrap\">this (2018)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"j is for judge and jury\"><span>J IS FOR JUDGE AND JURY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>The response to the Momart warehouse fire among the tabloids was emblematic of the controversy around Emin\u2019s work at the time. \u201cDidn\u2019t millions cheer as this \u2018rubbish\u2019 went up in flames?\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/arts\/news\/story\/0,11711,1226398,00.html\"><span>asked<\/span><\/a><span>the <\/span><em><span>Daily Mail<\/span><\/em><span>, while the journalist and author Tony Parsons <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2004\/sep\/23\/art.britartfire1\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span> in the <\/span><em><span>Mirror<\/span><\/em><span>: \u201cCan a fire ever be funny? Only if all the overpriced, over-discussed trash that we have had rammed down our throats in recent years by these ageing <\/span><em><span>enfant terribles<\/span><\/em><span> is consumed by the fire. Then the fire is not merely funny&#8230; it is bloody hilarious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Emin was always polarising, with the public and critics alike dismissing early works as juvenile, scatalogical, and self-absorbed \u2013 not to mention the party-heavy lifestyle of the wider Brit art scene. Often this criticism was wildly reductive, overlooking her experimental, subversive, and now-influential approach to making art. Funnily enough, male conceptual artists rarely got the same scale of public disapproval.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"k is for kitsch\"><span>K IS FOR KITSCH<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>What happens when an artist whose brilliance lies in their spiky subversion of the status quo becomes part of the very system they\u2019re set on critiquing? In 2014, the art critic Jonathan Jones <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/jonathanjonesblog\/2014\/jan\/21\/tracey-emin-confessions-conservative-artist-time-out\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span>: \u201cAny sense of real subversion or originality Emin ever conveyed has long since been packaged, copyrighted, and reproduced as kitsch self-caricature.\u201d (Admittedly, he\u2019s since changed his tune, which seems to have something to do with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2017\/oct\/04\/my-three-days-at-tracey-emin-mountain-hideaway-on-the-cote-dazur\"><span>visiting<\/span><\/a><span> her mountain hideaway on the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur.) This statement might seem harsh, but throughout the 2010s, it wasn\u2019t an uncommon opinion, as the likes of <\/span><em><span>My Bed <\/span><\/em><span>transitioned from a shocking statement to a museum piece.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"l is for loneliness\"><span>L IS FOR LONELINESS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Where shock once lived at the centre of Emin\u2019s work, the gradual acceptance of her more radical ideas coincided with a renewed focus on tenderness and emotions. Solitude and loneliness are two key themes that have recurred since the mid-2000s, especially in her sculpture and paintings, which she exhibited alongside Edvard Munch masterpieces at the 2021 RA exhibition <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royalacademy.org.uk\/exhibition\/tracey-emin-edvard-munch\"><em><span>The Loneliness of the Soul<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"affea854-5f11-497e-b7d3-b3fb01657a8a\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438747.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.33\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I whisper to My Past... (2010)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2250\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438747.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, I whisper to My Past Do I have Another <span class=\"nowrap\">Choice (2010)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"m is for minky manky\"><span>M IS FOR MINKY MANKY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Curated by Carl Freedman, the 1995 exhibition <\/span><em><span>Minky Manky <\/span><\/em><span>was a breakthrough moment, placing Emin\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963\u20131995<\/span><\/em><span> (which included Freedman\u2019s name) alongside art by more famous artists like Sarah Lucas and Gilbert &amp; George. She explained that this was a way of \u201cgetting back at\u201d the curator after he suggested her smaller-scale work \u201cwouldn\u2019t stand up well\u201d alongside the likes of Lucas. As it turned out, the infamous tent became one of the stars of the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"n is for neon\"><span>N IS FOR NEON<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>If you\u2019ve pulled into St Pancras station on the Eurostar, you\u2019ve probably seen Emin\u2019s bright pink, 20-metre neon sign reading: \u201cI want my time with you.\u201d Aimed at Europe, the artwork voiced solidarity with Europeans, as well as concern about Britain\u2019s status following the Brexit vote in 2016. Similar neon signs have appeared over the course of Emin\u2019s career, from wordless images of birds, to calls for \u201cmore passion\u201d (more on that in a bit).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"o is for orgasm\"><span>O IS FOR ORGASM<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Created in 2001, <\/span><em><span>Automatic Orgasm <\/span><\/em><span>is a textile work that mixes sexual and religious imagery \u2013 specifically, a cross overlaid with the text \u201cCome unto me\u201d. \u201c\u2018Come unto me\u2019 was what Jesus said, and it also is like the idea of coming, isn\u2019t it?,\u201d she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fadmagazine.com\/2011\/06\/24\/interview-with-tracey-emin-by-ralph-rugoffi\/\"><span>explained<\/span><\/a><span> at the time of the 2011 exhibition <\/span><em><span>Love Is What You Want<\/span><\/em><span>, adding that good sex can sometimes feel like crucifixion (where she\u2019s the cross). While being an outspoken advocate for women\u2019s pleasure in both her art and interviews, however, her own relationship with sex is \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/art-world\/tracey-emin-landmark-italian-show-2623880\"><span>complicated<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d and has included long periods of celibacy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"96b56a0d-6f6f-4394-b82c-b3fb0165812e\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438748.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.88\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s been there \" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438748.jpg\" width=\"2640\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s <span class=\"nowrap\">been there<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"p is for pomp and ceremony\"><span>P IS FOR POMP AND CEREMONY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>What words come to mind when you picture the late Queen Elizabeth II? For Emin, it was \u201cstrong and sexy and strident\u201d,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/04ee8bb0-9eef-11e1-a767-00144feabdc0\"><span>apparently<\/span><\/a><span>. The artist met the monarch twice and drew her in 2012. She also drew a picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton kissing on their wedding day (cute&#8230;) and, more recently, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/lifestyle\/article-14845397\/Dame-Tracey-Emin-praises-King-Charles-commitment-arts-join-prominent-figures-industry-celebrate-25-years-Royal-Drawing-School.html\"><span>praised<\/span><\/a><span> King Charles for his support of the arts. In fact, she thinks that everyone in the UK <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2024\/oct\/15\/male-artists-damien-hirst-less-of-force-after-40-tracey-emin\"><span>should embrace<\/span><\/a><span> the \u201cpomp and ceremony\u201d of the royal family, although she would \u201cnever, ever, ever\u201d want to be part of it herself due to their lack of freedom. Duly noted.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"q is for quilt\"><span>Q IS FOR QUILT<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Textiles might seem like a softer alternative to neon or gestural painting, but not Emin\u2019s. Pulling together threads from across her life and practice, her blankets, quilts and tapestries channel just as many raw emotions and confrontational ideas as any other facet of her work (see: \u2018Hate and Power Can Be a Terrible Thing\u2019 (2004), 2002\u2019s \u2018I do not expect\u2019, or 1997\u2019s \u2018<\/span><span>Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s Been There\u2019<\/span><span>). Her use of the medium to send feminist messages also undermines traditional ideas about textiles as \u201cwomen\u2019s work\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"r is for retrospective\"><span>R IS FOR RETROSPECTIVE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Emin\u2019s first solo show was at White Cube in November 1993, with the tongue-in-cheek title <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitecube.com\/gallery-exhibitions\/my-major-retrospective-1963-1993\"><em><span>My Major Retrospective<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>. It included the ashes of work that she\u2019d made while sharing a shop with Sarah Lucas, and subsequently burned, alongside personal photographs, teenage diaries, photos of her destroyed early paintings, and ephemera such as her uncle\u2019s cigarettes (mentioned above).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"8ef75a36-77b3-40e5-aaf0-b3fb01656dc6\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1978\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438745.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.66\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I followed you to the end (2024)\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438745.jpg\" width=\"1978\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, I followed you to the <span class=\"nowrap\">end (2024)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">Yale Centre for British Art. \u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"s is for school\"><span>S IS FOR SCHOOL<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Three years after her cancer diagnosis, Emin set up her own art school in Margate. Housed in an old public bathhouse that also hosts affordable studio spaces bearing her name, the school is free (although admissions are presumably very competitive). It\u2019s also set to expand, among other additions to Margate that are being supported by the artist, including a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cn85m002peeo\"><span>cafe<\/span><\/a><span> that trains young unemployed people and a planned community centre.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"t is for tories\"><span>T IS FOR TORIES<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2011, Britain was still reeling from the 2008 economic crash and entering an era of declining living standards later known as the Lost Decade, while a Tory-Lib Dem coalition had just dramatically raised university fees, triggering nationwide protests. Amid this chaos, Emin made a brave declaration: the Tories were the \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/culture-cuts-blog\/2011\/may\/16\/art-emin\"><span>only hope<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d for the arts. (See? She <\/span><em><span>hadn\u2019t <\/span><\/em><span>lost the power to provoke!) If that wasn\u2019t disappointing enough, 2011 granted us a photo of Emin kissing Tory leader David Cameron, followed by the unveiling of a neon artwork \u2013\u00a0the aforementioned <\/span><em><span>More Passion <\/span><\/em><span>(2010) \u2013 at 10 Downing Street. To be fair, Emin asked for its removal in 2022, in response to government misconduct during Covid \u2013 but for many that was too little, too late.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"u is for unorthodox union\"><span>U IS FOR UNORTHODOX UNION<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2015, Tracey Emin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/65039\/1\/tracey-emin-rollercoasters-hatsune-miku-history-posthuman-weddings-alicia-framis\"><span>married<\/span><\/a><span> a stone. A large, ancient stone, covered in lichen, with a sea view. <\/span><span>\u201c[It\u2019s] beautiful, it\u2019s palaeolithic, it\u2019s monumental, it\u2019s dignified,\u201d she told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2016\/may\/24\/tracey-emin-the-stone-i-married-is-beautiful-and-dignified-it-will-never-let-me-down\"><em><span>Guardian<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> a year later, after the honeymoon period had cooled off. \u201cIt will never, ever let me down.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"1e6bea3c-b952-4535-9ea6-b3fb0165958b\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438752.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.75\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Ascension (2024)\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438752.jpg\" width=\"2251\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, <span class=\"nowrap\">Ascension (2024)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"v is for venice\"><span>V IS FOR VENICE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2007, Emin represented Britain at the Venice Biennale and was only the second solo female artist to do so. This landmark exhibition, which solidified her arrival on the international art scene, was titled <\/span><em><span>Borrowed Light<\/span><\/em><span> and spanned a variety of media, and she was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org\/history\/2000s\/2014-tracey-emin\"><span>praised<\/span><\/a><span> for her \u201cability to reach just below the level of tastefulness\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"w is for white cube\"><span>W IS FOR WHITE CUBE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Far from just hosting her debut solo show, White Cube has played a significant role in Emin\u2019s career, across more than three decades. The London gallery has hosted many of her solo shows over the years, from the post-Turner Prize <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitecube.com\/gallery-exhibitions\/you-forgot-to-kiss-my-soul\"><em><span>You Forgot to Kiss My Soul<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>, through her transition to primarily painting in the late 2000s, right through to 2024\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitecube.com\/gallery-exhibitions\/tracey-emin-bermondsey-2024\"><em><span>I followed you to the end<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"x is for ex\"><span>X IS FOR EX<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>This might seem like an obvious choice given the theme of <\/span><em><span>Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963\u20131995<\/span><\/em><span> (although it\u2019s a misconception that the artwork <\/span><em><span>only <\/span><\/em><span>lists ex-lovers \u2013 it also includes people the artist had simply shared a bed with, including her grandma). Ex-lovers undeniably played a role in her life outside the tent as well, though, from Billy Childish to Carl Freedman, and she influenced their lives in turn. During their relationship, Emin was a prominent subject in Childish\u2019s poems, paintings, and the autobiographical novel <\/span><em><span>My Fault<\/span><\/em><span>, while her rise to fame often saw him referred to as simply \u201cTracey Emin\u2019s ex-boyfriend\u201d. Others, like Freedman and the painter Mat Collishaw, remained firm friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"ba345e54-758c-425e-ad34-b3fb01659b29\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438753.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.33\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Exorcism of the last painting I ever made (1996\" class=\"img\" height=\"2251\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438753.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, Exorcism of the last painting I ever <span class=\"nowrap\">made (1996)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"y is for yba\"><span>Y IS FOR YBA<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>If you\u2019ve made it this far, you probably already know about the Young British Artists, the loose group of&#8230; well, young, British artists that counted Emin among its number in the late 1980s. Mostly graduated from Goldsmiths or, like Emin, the Royal College of Art, their social antics and group exhibitions \u2013 largely supported by Saatchi \u2013 definitely contributed to the lasting success of each individual. Some have come off better than others, of course&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"z is for zeitgeist\"><span>Z IS FOR ZEITGEIST<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/ee\/podcast\/s3-ep4-dame-tracey-emin-discusses-her-upbringing-yba\/id1725833532?i=1000673088499\"><span>Speaking<\/span><\/a><span> to Louis Theroux in 2024, Emin noted that male artists have a tendency to \u201csort of peak in their 40s\u201d, citing Damien Hirst as a prime example. <\/span><span>\u201cDamien was a young artist who started off with a lot of that belief and a lot of that conviction,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was like a force. And now he\u2019s not.\u201d Women, on the other hand, \u201c<\/span><span>just tend to come and come and come and come and come\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/whats-on\/tate-modern\/tracey-emin\">Tracey Emin, A Second Life<\/a><em> runs at Tate Modern from February 26 to August<\/em>\u00a0<em>31.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"article-footer\">\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<div class=\"article-series\">\n<h4 class=\"heading\">More on these topics<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-series\"><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\">Art &amp; Photography<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/da-zed-guides\">dA-Zed guides<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/feature\">Feature<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/tracey-emin\">Tracey Emin<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/damien-hirst\">damien hirst<\/a><a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tag\/tate\">tate<\/a><a class=\"series\" 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Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"dazed-gallery has-12-images \">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"info\"><span class=\"heading\">Tracey Emin, A <span class=\"nowrap\">Second Life<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumbs\">\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/0\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin My Bed&#160;(1998)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438749.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/1\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I whisper to My Past... (2010)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438747.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/2\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I am The Last of my Kind (2019)\" class=\"img\" height=\"1311\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-0-1967-1311\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438744.jpg\" width=\"1967\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/3\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I followed you to the end (2024)\" class=\"img\" height=\"1318\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-150-1978-1318\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438745.jpg\" width=\"1978\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/4\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I never asked to Fall in Love... (2018)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/0-541-3000-2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438746.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-thumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/gallery\/36742\/5\/tracey-emin-a-second-life\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s been there \" class=\"img\" height=\"955\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/320\/600-593-1432-955\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438748.jpg\" width=\"1432\"><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-footer\">Gallery \/ 12 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>For decades, the British art scene has looked on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/tracey-emin\">Tracey Emin<\/a> as one of its most iconic and divisive figures. Her confessional artworks are practically unparalleled for their raw vulnerability and ability to express a turbulent emotional landscape that \u2013\u00a0let\u2019s be honest \u2013\u00a0most Brits have a hard time coming to terms with in private, never mind sharing it on a national stage. But that\u2019s exactly what Emin has done, refusing to compromise amid her meteoric rise from art school upstart to certified star, whose works have graced walls everywhere from the Royal Academy to (controversially) 10 Downing Street.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This month, Tate Modern will host a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/whats-on\/tate-modern\/tracey-emin\"><span>landmark exhibition<\/span><\/a><span> spanning 40 years of Emin\u2019s work. Across painting, video, textiles, writing, sculpture, and installation, a few themes emerge again and again over the course of those four decades, including love, trauma, and the female body as a site of both passion and pain. A brush with death after she was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/52709\/1\/tracey-emin-has-never-been-so-happy-following-dramatic-cancer-surgery\"><span>diagnosed<\/span><\/a><span> with an aggressive form of cancer in 2020 \u2013\u00a0referenced in the title of the Tate show, <\/span><em><span>A Second Life <\/span><\/em><span>\u2013 lends an added sense of perspective, and in interviews, the artist has spoken about the after-effects of the resulting surgeries with her typical, unfiltered candour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But it would be a mistake to see Emin\u2019s art as an act of pure self-exploration (or even self-indulgence). Whether or not you relate to her works on a personal or political level, we surely all stand to benefit from the kinds of frank discussions they spark about life, creativity, and what it means to be human. With that in mind, we dive deep into Emin\u2019s life and art in the dA-Zed guide below.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"00ddc5b4-9472-4c65-9870-b3fb016586ce\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438749.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.31\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin My Bed&#160;(1998)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2284\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438749.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin <span class=\"nowrap\">My Bed\u00a0(1998)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2026, Courtesy\u00a0The Saatchi Gallery, London \/ Photograph by Prudence Cuming <span class=\"nowrap\">Associates Ltd<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"a is for autobiography\"><span>A IS FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>For Emin, the line between public and personal has always been thin,\u00a0or maybe non-existent. This was evident from her first solo show,\u00a0where she exhibited personal photos alongside memorabilia from notable events in her life, including a pack of cigarettes that her uncle was allegedly holding when he was decapitated in a car crash.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"b is for bed\"><span>B IS FOR BED<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Obviously&#8230; <\/span><em><span>My Bed <\/span><\/em><span>(1998) is probably Emin\u2019s best-known artwork, shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999. Inspired by a depressive, drunken, four-day reclusive period following a breakup, it quite literally consists of an unmade bed, complete with cigarette butts, condoms, and underwear stained with menstrual blood. Many critics were outraged when it was first exhibited, and middle-aged men up and down the country were heard claiming: \u201c<\/span><em><span>I <\/span><\/em><span>could exhibit my unmade bed!\u201d But they didn\u2019t, did they? And that\u2019s why they won\u2019t go down in art history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Emin had previously refused to sell work to the ad man and art collector Charles Saatchi, because of his advertising for Margaret Thatcher. As the stories go, though, she was convinced to sell him <\/span><em><span>My Bed<\/span><\/em><span> for \u00a3150,000 in 2000, later <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theartnewspaper.com\/2021\/08\/19\/thatcher-and-tampons-how-tracey-emin-came-to-sell-her-unmade-bed-to-charles-saatchi\"><span>saying<\/span><\/a><span>: \u201cThat meeting changed everything for me\u2026 The sale of the bed was my deposit for a house. Something I never dreamt would be possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"c is for croydon\"><span>C IS FOR CROYDON<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Emin was born in the South London borough in 1963, to a Turkish Cypriot father and a mother of Romani descent, although she was raised in the seaside town of Margate, which exerted\u00a0a much bigger influence on her life and work. That said, Emin has recently returned to Croydon \u2013\u00a0alongside other London boroughs such as Walthamstow and Tower Hamlets \u2013 for a neon-themed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/press\/press-releases\/tracey-emin-takes-over-london\"><span>billboard campaign<\/span><\/a><span> that accompanies\u00a0<\/span><em><span>A Second Life<\/span><\/em><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"fb0501fc-6ac9-4457-90ff-b3fb0165a4e2\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438755.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.5\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, A Second Life billboard, Shoreditch (2026)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438755.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, A Second Life billboard, Shoreditch <span class=\"nowrap\">(February 2026)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Tate and Jack Arts (part <span class=\"nowrap\">of BUILDHOLLYWOOD)<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"d is for drawing\"><span>D IS FOR DRAWING<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Drawing is an often-underacknowledged part of Emin\u2019s oeuvre, despite playing a significant role in her practice alongside printmaking, a medium that she studied at Maidstone College of Art in the mid-80s. Stylistically indebted to artists like Edvard Munch and Egon Schiele, her gestural drawings often feature nude figures, exploring subjects like sexuality and shame. \u201c<\/span><span>Some of my favourite drawings I have done with my eyes closed,\u201d she told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2009\/may\/25\/tracey-emin-drawing-art\"><em><span>Guardian<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>in 2009, \u201cor so drunk I do not remember making them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"e is for enfant terrible (... or establishment)\"><span>E IS FOR ENFANT TERRIBLE (&#8230; OR ESTABLISHMENT)<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Even in a scene dominated by larger-than-life figures like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/damien-hirst\">Damien Hirst<\/a>, Gavin Turk, and Sarah Lucas, Emin was known as Britart\u2019s <\/span><em><span>enfant terrible<\/span><\/em><span> \u2013 a label that often reduced her complex, conceptual works to acts of provocation or \u201cattention seeking\u201d. Today, though, she\u2019s more likely to be described as a \u201cnational treasure\u201d than an unruly rebel. In 2024, she was even awarded a DBE, after receiving a CBE in 2013. So actually, it\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Dame <\/span><\/em><span>Tracey Emin, to the likes of us.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"f is for fire\"><span>F IS FOR FIRE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In the early 2000s, Tracey Emin was an established figure in a red-hot art scene that included Hirst, the Chapman brothers, Gary Hume, and Chris Ofili. Maybe too hot, in fact. In 2004, Charles Saatchi\u2019s east London-based Momart warehouse, which contained more than 100 of their works, burned down, wiping out a significant portion of art history. Among the lost artworks was Emin\u2019s famous appliqu\u00e9 tent, <\/span><em><span>Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963\u20131995<\/span><\/em><span> (1995). \u201c<\/span><span>This news comes between Iraqi weddings being bombed and people dying in the Dominican Republic in flash floods \u2013 so we have to get it into perspective,\u201d she stated at the time. \u201cBut I am really gutted. I just thank God no one was hurt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"8e65626c-d5a3-4840-bb88-b3fb0165a0c9\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438754.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"squarish\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.91\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"squarish\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Is This a Joke (2009)\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438754.jpg\" width=\"2718\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, Is This a <span class=\"nowrap\">Joke (2009)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"g is for girlhood\"><span>G IS FOR GIRLHOOD<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>\u201cA lot of people are really derogatory about my work and say it\u2019s just art that something like a teenage girl would make,\u201d Emin told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/films\/features\/tracey-emin-growing-up-is-hard-to-do-5351460.html\"><em><span>Independent<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> in 2004, in an interview about her only feature film, <\/span><em><span>Topspot<\/span><\/em><span>. \u201cWell, yeah, it is, because I\u2019m still stuck in a teenage world, part of me is still there. I\u2019m still dealing with those issues and a lot of people always are.\u201d Throughout her career, the artist has been candid about what she means by teenage \u201cissues\u201d, citing instances of abuse, violence and sexual assault in Margate. This has often informed interpretations of her art.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"h is for hangman books\"><span>H IS FOR HANGMAN BOOKS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In the 80s, Emin studied at what was then known as Medway College of Design, where she met Billy Childish, an expelled student and member of the punk poetry group the Medway Poets. During her studies, followed by a printmaking course at Maidstone Art College, she was in a relationship with Childish and worked for his small confessional poetry press, Hangman Books. It was an emotionally turbulent time, but she would later <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stuckism.com\/emin.html\"><span>describe<\/span><\/a><span> it as one of the biggest influences on her life.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"i is for illness\"><span>I IS FOR ILLNESS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2020, Emin was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The treatment required the removal of her bladder and several other organs, and required a stoma (a hole in her abdomen) to drain urine. During the treatment, she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/51321\/1\/tracey-emin-says-art-kept-her-alive-during-her-cancer-battle\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>: \u201cI think my art, my love of everything, and my passion is what\u2019s kept me alive in the last few months.\u201d Since then, she\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/52709\/1\/tracey-emin-has-never-been-so-happy-following-dramatic-cancer-surgery\"><span>spoken<\/span><\/a><span> openly about the illness and its physical repercussions, as well as how it changed her outlook on life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"e9c8acc6-62d8-45b7-99d0-b3fb016575cc\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438746.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.18\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I never asked to Fall in Love... (2018)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2544\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438746.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, I never asked to Fall in Love \u2013 You made me Feel like <span class=\"nowrap\">this (2018)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"j is for judge and jury\"><span>J IS FOR JUDGE AND JURY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>The response to the Momart warehouse fire among the tabloids was emblematic of the controversy around Emin\u2019s work at the time. \u201cDidn\u2019t millions cheer as this \u2018rubbish\u2019 went up in flames?\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/arts\/news\/story\/0,11711,1226398,00.html\"><span>asked<\/span><\/a><span>the <\/span><em><span>Daily Mail<\/span><\/em><span>, while the journalist and author Tony Parsons <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2004\/sep\/23\/art.britartfire1\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span> in the <\/span><em><span>Mirror<\/span><\/em><span>: \u201cCan a fire ever be funny? Only if all the overpriced, over-discussed trash that we have had rammed down our throats in recent years by these ageing <\/span><em><span>enfant terribles<\/span><\/em><span> is consumed by the fire. Then the fire is not merely funny&#8230; it is bloody hilarious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Emin was always polarising, with the public and critics alike dismissing early works as juvenile, scatalogical, and self-absorbed \u2013 not to mention the party-heavy lifestyle of the wider Brit art scene. Often this criticism was wildly reductive, overlooking her experimental, subversive, and now-influential approach to making art. Funnily enough, male conceptual artists rarely got the same scale of public disapproval.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"k is for kitsch\"><span>K IS FOR KITSCH<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>What happens when an artist whose brilliance lies in their spiky subversion of the status quo becomes part of the very system they\u2019re set on critiquing? In 2014, the art critic Jonathan Jones <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/jonathanjonesblog\/2014\/jan\/21\/tracey-emin-confessions-conservative-artist-time-out\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span>: \u201cAny sense of real subversion or originality Emin ever conveyed has long since been packaged, copyrighted, and reproduced as kitsch self-caricature.\u201d (Admittedly, he\u2019s since changed his tune, which seems to have something to do with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2017\/oct\/04\/my-three-days-at-tracey-emin-mountain-hideaway-on-the-cote-dazur\"><span>visiting<\/span><\/a><span> her mountain hideaway on the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur.) This statement might seem harsh, but throughout the 2010s, it wasn\u2019t an uncommon opinion, as the likes of <\/span><em><span>My Bed <\/span><\/em><span>transitioned from a shocking statement to a museum piece.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"l is for loneliness\"><span>L IS FOR LONELINESS<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Where shock once lived at the centre of Emin\u2019s work, the gradual acceptance of her more radical ideas coincided with a renewed focus on tenderness and emotions. Solitude and loneliness are two key themes that have recurred since the mid-2000s, especially in her sculpture and paintings, which she exhibited alongside Edvard Munch masterpieces at the 2021 RA exhibition <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royalacademy.org.uk\/exhibition\/tracey-emin-edvard-munch\"><em><span>The Loneliness of the Soul<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"affea854-5f11-497e-b7d3-b3fb01657a8a\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438747.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.33\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I whisper to My Past... (2010)\" class=\"img\" height=\"2250\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438747.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, I whisper to My Past Do I have Another <span class=\"nowrap\">Choice (2010)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"m is for minky manky\"><span>M IS FOR MINKY MANKY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Curated by Carl Freedman, the 1995 exhibition <\/span><em><span>Minky Manky <\/span><\/em><span>was a breakthrough moment, placing Emin\u2019s <\/span><em><span>Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963\u20131995<\/span><\/em><span> (which included Freedman\u2019s name) alongside art by more famous artists like Sarah Lucas and Gilbert &amp; George. She explained that this was a way of \u201cgetting back at\u201d the curator after he suggested her smaller-scale work \u201cwouldn\u2019t stand up well\u201d alongside the likes of Lucas. As it turned out, the infamous tent became one of the stars of the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"n is for neon\"><span>N IS FOR NEON<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>If you\u2019ve pulled into St Pancras station on the Eurostar, you\u2019ve probably seen Emin\u2019s bright pink, 20-metre neon sign reading: \u201cI want my time with you.\u201d Aimed at Europe, the artwork voiced solidarity with Europeans, as well as concern about Britain\u2019s status following the Brexit vote in 2016. Similar neon signs have appeared over the course of Emin\u2019s career, from wordless images of birds, to calls for \u201cmore passion\u201d (more on that in a bit).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"o is for orgasm\"><span>O IS FOR ORGASM<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Created in 2001, <\/span><em><span>Automatic Orgasm <\/span><\/em><span>is a textile work that mixes sexual and religious imagery \u2013 specifically, a cross overlaid with the text \u201cCome unto me\u201d. \u201c\u2018Come unto me\u2019 was what Jesus said, and it also is like the idea of coming, isn\u2019t it?,\u201d she <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fadmagazine.com\/2011\/06\/24\/interview-with-tracey-emin-by-ralph-rugoffi\/\"><span>explained<\/span><\/a><span> at the time of the 2011 exhibition <\/span><em><span>Love Is What You Want<\/span><\/em><span>, adding that good sex can sometimes feel like crucifixion (where she\u2019s the cross). While being an outspoken advocate for women\u2019s pleasure in both her art and interviews, however, her own relationship with sex is \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/art-world\/tracey-emin-landmark-italian-show-2623880\"><span>complicated<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d and has included long periods of celibacy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"96b56a0d-6f6f-4394-b82c-b3fb0165812e\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438748.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.88\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s been there \" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438748.jpg\" width=\"2640\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s <span class=\"nowrap\">been there<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"p is for pomp and ceremony\"><span>P IS FOR POMP AND CEREMONY<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>What words come to mind when you picture the late Queen Elizabeth II? For Emin, it was \u201cstrong and sexy and strident\u201d,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/04ee8bb0-9eef-11e1-a767-00144feabdc0\"><span>apparently<\/span><\/a><span>. The artist met the monarch twice and drew her in 2012. She also drew a picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton kissing on their wedding day (cute&#8230;) and, more recently, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/lifestyle\/article-14845397\/Dame-Tracey-Emin-praises-King-Charles-commitment-arts-join-prominent-figures-industry-celebrate-25-years-Royal-Drawing-School.html\"><span>praised<\/span><\/a><span> King Charles for his support of the arts. In fact, she thinks that everyone in the UK <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2024\/oct\/15\/male-artists-damien-hirst-less-of-force-after-40-tracey-emin\"><span>should embrace<\/span><\/a><span> the \u201cpomp and ceremony\u201d of the royal family, although she would \u201cnever, ever, ever\u201d want to be part of it herself due to their lack of freedom. Duly noted.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"q is for quilt\"><span>Q IS FOR QUILT<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Textiles might seem like a softer alternative to neon or gestural painting, but not Emin\u2019s. Pulling together threads from across her life and practice, her blankets, quilts and tapestries channel just as many raw emotions and confrontational ideas as any other facet of her work (see: \u2018Hate and Power Can Be a Terrible Thing\u2019 (2004), 2002\u2019s \u2018I do not expect\u2019, or 1997\u2019s \u2018<\/span><span>Mad Tracey from Margate. Everyone\u2019s Been There\u2019<\/span><span>). Her use of the medium to send feminist messages also undermines traditional ideas about textiles as \u201cwomen\u2019s work\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"r is for retrospective\"><span>R IS FOR RETROSPECTIVE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Emin\u2019s first solo show was at White Cube in November 1993, with the tongue-in-cheek title <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitecube.com\/gallery-exhibitions\/my-major-retrospective-1963-1993\"><em><span>My Major Retrospective<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>. It included the ashes of work that she\u2019d made while sharing a shop with Sarah Lucas, and subsequently burned, alongside personal photographs, teenage diaries, photos of her destroyed early paintings, and ephemera such as her uncle\u2019s cigarettes (mentioned above).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"8ef75a36-77b3-40e5-aaf0-b3fb01656dc6\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1978\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438745.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.66\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, I followed you to the end (2024)\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438745.jpg\" width=\"1978\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, I followed you to the <span class=\"nowrap\">end (2024)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">Yale Centre for British Art. \u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"s is for school\"><span>S IS FOR SCHOOL<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Three years after her cancer diagnosis, Emin set up her own art school in Margate. Housed in an old public bathhouse that also hosts affordable studio spaces bearing her name, the school is free (although admissions are presumably very competitive). It\u2019s also set to expand, among other additions to Margate that are being supported by the artist, including a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cn85m002peeo\"><span>cafe<\/span><\/a><span> that trains young unemployed people and a planned community centre.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"t is for tories\"><span>T IS FOR TORIES<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2011, Britain was still reeling from the 2008 economic crash and entering an era of declining living standards later known as the Lost Decade, while a Tory-Lib Dem coalition had just dramatically raised university fees, triggering nationwide protests. Amid this chaos, Emin made a brave declaration: the Tories were the \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/culture-cuts-blog\/2011\/may\/16\/art-emin\"><span>only hope<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d for the arts. (See? She <\/span><em><span>hadn\u2019t <\/span><\/em><span>lost the power to provoke!) If that wasn\u2019t disappointing enough, 2011 granted us a photo of Emin kissing Tory leader David Cameron, followed by the unveiling of a neon artwork \u2013\u00a0the aforementioned <\/span><em><span>More Passion <\/span><\/em><span>(2010) \u2013 at 10 Downing Street. To be fair, Emin asked for its removal in 2022, in response to government misconduct during Covid \u2013 but for many that was too little, too late.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"u is for unorthodox union\"><span>U IS FOR UNORTHODOX UNION<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2015, Tracey Emin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/65039\/1\/tracey-emin-rollercoasters-hatsune-miku-history-posthuman-weddings-alicia-framis\"><span>married<\/span><\/a><span> a stone. A large, ancient stone, covered in lichen, with a sea view. <\/span><span>\u201c[It\u2019s] beautiful, it\u2019s palaeolithic, it\u2019s monumental, it\u2019s dignified,\u201d she told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2016\/may\/24\/tracey-emin-the-stone-i-married-is-beautiful-and-dignified-it-will-never-let-me-down\"><em><span>Guardian<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> a year later, after the honeymoon period had cooled off. \u201cIt will never, ever let me down.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"1e6bea3c-b952-4535-9ea6-b3fb0165958b\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438752.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"0.75\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"portrait\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Ascension (2024)\" class=\"img\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438752.jpg\" width=\"2251\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, <span class=\"nowrap\">Ascension (2024)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"v is for venice\"><span>V IS FOR VENICE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>In 2007, Emin represented Britain at the Venice Biennale and was only the second solo female artist to do so. This landmark exhibition, which solidified her arrival on the international art scene, was titled <\/span><em><span>Borrowed Light<\/span><\/em><span> and spanned a variety of media, and she was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org\/history\/2000s\/2014-tracey-emin\"><span>praised<\/span><\/a><span> for her \u201cability to reach just below the level of tastefulness\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"w is for white cube\"><span>W IS FOR WHITE CUBE<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Far from just hosting her debut solo show, White Cube has played a significant role in Emin\u2019s career, across more than three decades. The London gallery has hosted many of her solo shows over the years, from the post-Turner Prize <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitecube.com\/gallery-exhibitions\/you-forgot-to-kiss-my-soul\"><em><span>You Forgot to Kiss My Soul<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>, through her transition to primarily painting in the late 2000s, right through to 2024\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitecube.com\/gallery-exhibitions\/tracey-emin-bermondsey-2024\"><em><span>I followed you to the end<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"x is for ex\"><span>X IS FOR EX<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>This might seem like an obvious choice given the theme of <\/span><em><span>Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963\u20131995<\/span><\/em><span> (although it\u2019s a misconception that the artwork <\/span><em><span>only <\/span><\/em><span>lists ex-lovers \u2013 it also includes people the artist had simply shared a bed with, including her grandma). Ex-lovers undeniably played a role in her life outside the tent as well, though, from Billy Childish to Carl Freedman, and she influenced their lives in turn. During their relationship, Emin was a prominent subject in Childish\u2019s poems, paintings, and the autobiographical novel <\/span><em><span>My Fault<\/span><\/em><span>, while her rise to fame often saw him referred to as simply \u201cTracey Emin\u2019s ex-boyfriend\u201d. Others, like Freedman and the painter Mat Collishaw, remained firm friends.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"inline-img expandable dev-view-hide\" data-img=\"ba345e54-758c-425e-ad34-b3fb01659b29\" data-src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/2000\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438753.jpg\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.33\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tracey Emin, Exorcism of the last painting I ever made (1996\" class=\"img\" height=\"2251\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/786\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438753.jpg\" width=\"3000\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"caption\">Tracey Emin, Exorcism of the last painting I ever <span class=\"nowrap\">made (1996)<\/span><\/span><span class=\"credit\">\u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, <span class=\"nowrap\">DACS 2026<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h2 data-innertext=\"y is for yba\"><span>Y IS FOR YBA<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>If you\u2019ve made it this far, you probably already know about the Young British Artists, the loose group of&#8230; well, young, British artists that counted Emin among its number in the late 1980s. Mostly graduated from Goldsmiths or, like Emin, the Royal College of Art, their social antics and group exhibitions \u2013 largely supported by Saatchi \u2013 definitely contributed to the lasting success of each individual. Some have come off better than others, of course&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-innertext=\"z is for zeitgeist\"><span>Z IS FOR ZEITGEIST<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/ee\/podcast\/s3-ep4-dame-tracey-emin-discusses-her-upbringing-yba\/id1725833532?i=1000673088499\"><span>Speaking<\/span><\/a><span> to Louis Theroux in 2024, Emin noted that male artists have a tendency to \u201csort of peak in their 40s\u201d, citing Damien Hirst as a prime example. <\/span><span>\u201cDamien was a young artist who started off with a lot of that belief and a lot of that conviction,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was like a force. And now he\u2019s not.\u201d Women, on the other hand, \u201c<\/span><span>just tend to come and come and come and come and come\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/whats-on\/tate-modern\/tracey-emin\">Tracey Emin, A Second Life<\/a><em> runs at Tate Modern from February 26 to August<\/em>\u00a0<em>31.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/art-photography\/article\/69743\/1\/the-dazed-guide-to-tracey-emin-tate-modern-yba&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/528\/1-3-528-352\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1430\/8\/1438751.jpg&#8221;] \u00a9 Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2026 February\u00a0 25,\u00a0 2026 Art &amp; Photography \/ dA-Zed guides Art &amp; Photography \/ dA-Zed guides The dA-Zed guide to Tracey Emin As a landmark exhibition traces 40 years of her work at Tate Modern, we explore the life and work of the YBA who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-1792098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1792098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1792098\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1792098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1792098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1792098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}