Tracey Emin: 'I've done more in my last five years than in the whole rest of my life'

"Tracey Emin is internationally renowned for her coruscatingly confessional art, which for over three decades has chronicled an often tumultuous life in various media, including painting, video, textiles, neon, writing, sculpture and installation. Born in Croydon, London, and raised in the seaside town of Margate, Emin first attracted widespread attention when, as a Turner Prize nominee in 1999, she exhibited the now notorious work My Bed (1998) provoking fierce critical debate on what art could-or should-be."

"Since then, her steadfast refusal to separate the intimately personal from the public has raised her profile to celebrity status as well as making her one of the UK's most established artists. In 2007 Emin represented Britain at the Venice Biennale and was also elected a Royal Academician. She received a CBE for services to the arts in 2012, followed by a damehood in 2024."

"Now, Tate Modern is staging her largest retrospective, which will span works from her first solo exhibition at White Cube in 1993 to her most recent paintings, as well as premiering a documentary featuring the stoma bag that she lives with. For a long time there wasn't a title, and it was only when I came up with A Second Life that we could really curate the show."

Tracey Emin's confessional art has chronicled a tumultuous life across painting, video, textiles, neon, writing, sculpture and installation over more than thirty years. Her Turner Prize nomination in 1999 brought attention when My Bed (1998) provoked fierce debate about the boundaries of art. Emin refuses to separate the personal from the public, achieving celebrity and recognition including representation of Britain at the 2007 Venice Biennale and election as a Royal Academician. She received a CBE in 2012 and a damehood in 2024. A bladder cancer diagnosis and invasive surgery in 2020 altered her life and became material for new work. Tate Modern is mounting her largest retrospective titled A Second Life, including a documentary featuring her stoma bag.

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