Tracey Emin – British Artist

Doing cycles in the world of Art, today I have the immense pleasure of  hosting Tracey Emin, a British enfant terrible. As she approaches 50, Emin does not let go of the relentless defiance that epitomizes her style.

“My Bed”, first created in 1998, was exhibited in TatGallery in 1999 and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize. Although it did not win it, it created a furore.

Emin’s ‘Sweet Thing’ was based on Robert Barn’s poem ‘Nine Inch Will Please a Lady’.

Emin has already created a mulitude of little drawings, the most famous one being a series on female masturbation.

Text-based neon signs have been current in art since the 1960s. The leader of the neon-sign trend was Bruce Nauman.

Emin’s neon text works are always made in her signature handwriting, emphasizing the personal nature of their commentary.

Emin has collaborated with Louise Bourgeois to create “Do Nor Abandon Me”, a set of sixteen drawings that “articulate physical drives and feelings, candidly confronting themes of identity, sexuality and the fear of loss and abandonment through joint expression.” (Hauser & Wirth Press Release)

If I were to characterize Emin, I would call her a rebel without a cause. And she can be extremely funny.

She just spits it out, raw and violent, and sensitive, and lonely. There is no intellectual veneer, there is no politics.