Tracey Emin - dirty sheets and all

by Paul Conneally | August 5, 2008 at 04:45 am

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Emin leaves trail of baby clothes through Folkestone as Britart comes to seaside

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uploaded by Paul Conneally

The first UK retrospective of Brit artist Tracey Emin has just opened in Edinburgh and the knives are out of some critics' pockets. It's better to have a visit and look and come to your own conclusions about Tracey's work which can be shocking and yet uplifting at the same time time. Her wordplay is as important as the visual impact in some of her work and she has no doubt great drawing skills when she chooses to let us see them. Here we get a balanced introduction and review of Emin's exhibition which must be worth an hour or so of anyone's time in Edinburgh. If her work will stand the test of time is still to be seen but the British public while shocked at times by her do seem to have a place in their heart for Tracey who is seen as honest somehow.

Since she first made her mark in the early Nineties, Tracey Emin has systematically thrust herself into the limelight. She is now probably the most recognisable living artist in the country, more famous even than her YBA contemporary, Damien Hirst.

But her provocative candour, boozy antics and publicity-craving stunts have had an adverse effect on the critical reception to her work: Mad Tracey from Margate (the nickname is her own) is just a bit too showbiz to be taken seriously.

When she was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999, she notoriously showed her unmade bed, surrounded by squalid mementoes of life on the edge, including empty vodka bottles, pill packets and used condoms. Histrionic and weak, the piece emanated more than a whiff of ego. She didn't win.

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Gallery Forty2

at 07:31 on August 5th, 2008

Tracey Emin - original sketch of scratchy nude (2007)

Donated to the RCA Secret exhibition and sale 2007.

Private collection

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Angus Willson

at 07:32 on August 5th, 2008

Lost or discarded childhood items represent the melancholy often associated with growing up in run down sea-side towns, in this case Folkestone, Kent.

This item by Tracy Emin is part of the Folkestone Triennial Festival and can be found in Mill Bay, near University Centre Folkestone.
June 14 to September 14, 2008
wwwfolkestonetriennial.co.uk

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laFagotta

at 11:10 on August 5th, 2008

"pieces"
Venice Biennale, August 2007.

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fredpipes

at 01:32 on August 6th, 2008

At the Folkestone Triennial, this is item 8b on the map (Sandgate Road pedestrian precinct): a 'lost' item of baby clothing cast in bronze and painted to look like the real thing by Tracey Emin. It is one of seven such sculptures scattered around the town, making reference to the above average rate of teenage pregnancy in towns like Folkestone and Tracey's home town of Margate.

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paolotonon

at 01:57 on August 6th, 2008

A neon installation like fluxus artists did... Emin's art is minimal and strong.

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HK_07

at 03:20 on August 6th, 2008

Her work is strong indeed. I first saw her work in Venice at last years Biennale. I was very interested in her 'textile pieces/pictures' because I'm into textile arts and crafts as well. Today I'm leaving Austria to travel to Scotland - I hope there'll be time to visit her exhibition...

Lumy44

at 05:18 on August 6th, 2008

By chance that this picture was captured, ever difficult taking pictures in any London Exhibits these days……..anal or what!

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j.peg0714

at 12:41 on August 6th, 2008

I found that with this image all of me past truths and secrets come together and amount to one person.

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yunehann.C

at 07:20 on August 7th, 2008

Well,I think I know the art work from Tracey Emin...

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Sackpics

at 10:45 on August 7th, 2008

I like TE's paintings, drawings (paper and neon) much better than some of her other work. I thought she represented well at the Venice Biennale (2007). I especially like the photo of one of her small paintings with one of her neon pieces reflected in the glass...

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