Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin is a renowned British artist whose deeply autobiographical work spans multiple mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, neon text, photography and video. Her art, marked by unflinching emotional honesty and feminist discourse, explores themes of love, desire, loss, grief and the construct of self. Emin’s raw, confessional approach transforms personal experiences - childhood, relationships, pregnancy, abortion, illness and ageing - into universal narratives.

 

Born in London in 1963 and raised in Margate, Emin’s early works often reference her troubled youth and family life. Her breakout pieces include Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (1995), a tent adorned with names of those she shared a bed with, and My Bed (1998), a raw installation of her unmade bed, which brought her international fame during the Turner Prize exhibition.

 

Emin’s creative expression is deeply tied to feminism. She reclaims traditionally feminine crafts, like embroidery, to convey powerful statements, while her use of neon text often captures intimate emotions in striking phrases. Her public art projects, such as The Mother (2021) in Oslo, merge the personal and monumental, exploring the female body and mortality.

 

A member of the Young British Artists (YBAs) collective, Emin has exhibited globally and received numerous honors, including a CBE in 2013 and a Damehood in 2024 for her services to art.