Tracy Emin’s 20 Years
Modern Art Galleries
Edinburgh, Scotland
2nd August – 9th November 2008

by Rea Cris

This is the first major retrospective of one of Britain’s most controversial artists. The exhibition features work rarely seen and some of her more iconic pieces, such as the much discussed “My Bed”, along with her trademark appliquéd blankets, paintings, installations, drawings and prints. Tracy Emin studied at the Royal College of Art in London from 1987 to 1989, destroying all her work following a traumatic abortion and being told she would never bear children. She only began working again around 1993, staging her first exhibition at the White Cube Gallery when she was 30. Emin has since been recognized as one of the leading figures of the YBA (Young British Artist) group.

Having studied art history but never surprisingly seen any of Emin’s work in the flesh I was slightly confused as what to think about her work. Torn between the cynical attitude of the media and complete adoration from the academics, I could never draw a satisfying conclusion. Perhaps it is fitting that I finally came to a conclusion at a retrospective. I now believe that you cannot understand Emin or her body of work if it is not collected and presented together as one united piece. Since her work is very much autobiographical and draws continuously from her life, it seems weird to view it in a fractured and isolated manner. This retrospective was most enlightening. I finally understood what it was that Emin was striving to do.

Without wanting to sound too cliché, she is really about expressing herself and unlike so many other YBA artists, she is not interested in shock value or enraging people. She draws from her background in neither a tragic nor sentimental manner. She is not looking for attention or forgiveness, but simply expression.

Reading Emin’s patchworks, I felt an understanding, even though my childhood was peachy-keen in comparison to hers. But perhaps another factor is that I am a woman. Much of Emin’s work revolves around abortion, motherhood and sex; all subjects close to a woman’s thoughts whether they be negative or positive. I went to the exhibition with my boyfriend who was neither impressed nor touched and who was rather annoyed at having to pay an entrance fee for “that”. I, on the other hand, felt I had finally gotten to know someone better and was happy for it.

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/
http://www.tracey-emin.co.uk
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/tracey_emin.htm