Tracey Emin – Artist research

Emin’s work is well known to relate to loss, grief, desire, love and much more. Her art consists of 2d
drawings, prints and paintings, to massive sculpture pieces, and digital photography and film. She
draws from her firsthand experiences, ones that have caused her pain, and she has used her work to
process those feelings. A big theme in her work is honesty, with herself and with the audience. Emin
first made big headlines back in the 90’s with ‘My Bed’ which showed a messy bed with objects lying
in and around it. This piece was inspired by an extremely low point in her life where she did not
leave bed for four days. When getting up for the first time she looked back at her bed, seeing stained
clothing, cigarette's, vodka, pregnancy test and much more lying everywhere and knew it was a
perfect representation of what she had been feeling. It showed her heartbreak and struggle better
than she could have explained it. This is why I really like this piece; you do not need words to see
how much pain she was in, and it was in a language that everyone could understand and relate with,
because everyone has had their bed looking like that for some reason or another.

‘Everyone I have even Slept with’ is another very well-known piece because it was so controversial.
Emin created a tent with 102 names of everyone she had ever shared a bed with, which included
family and friends along with partners. This was an extremely intimate piece and again she is being
very honest with her audience. From the name, the audience gets the idea that its everyone she has
had sex with, but Emin intention was too de-sexualize a bed and women in general. Sharing a bed is
an intimate and loving experience, but sex is not needed for there to be love and connection even
with a partner. This is what I think Tracey Emin was trying to explain.

One of my favourites was ‘The Last Thing I Said to You was Don't Leave Me Here II’ which consisted
of 2 photographs and a hut that she bought when she was younger. The hut was transported to the
gallery, looking bare, battered and broken and the photographs showing the same connotations. She
is naked, one with her back turned and the other from the side, both taken in the hunt. The photos
invoke feeling of sadness and hurt, I feel like I can feel her pain because she is letting me see it. The
reason I like this piece is because of the vulnerability that she is willing to put forward and the lack of
spelling out she has done for the audience. All we really know is that this was after a breakup or
falling out where she had been left alone in a place she did not want to be. This could be the hut, or
a mental place, once again without love or companionship.

Tracey Emin’s work is very emotive and honest. Her artwork obviously helps her process her
emotions which is inspiring me to do the same. I think being more honest with myself with shine
through in my art. I like her outlook on loss and grief because she has turned an ugly, awful feeling
into something that she can work with, turning it into not necessarily a happy feeling, but not as
painful.

References:

10 works on grief and loneliness by Tracey Emin and Edvard Munch | Blog | Royal Academy of Arts

Tracey Emin’s “My Bed” Ignored Society’s Expectations of Women | Artsy

Tracey Emin born 1963 | Tate

Inside That Tracey Emin Tent of Everyone She Ever Slept With | Widewalls

NPG P879; Tracey Emin ('The Last Thing I said to you is don't leave me here. 1') - Portrait - National
Portrait Gallery