Tracey Emin As An Inspiration

 by Phoebe Clark

For a while I have heard the name Tracey Emin, like many other artists, thrown around because of her fame. However, it was only recently, over the Christmas holidays, that I started taking an interest in her work, and inevitably, her life due to her biographical subject matter. I watched a youtube video documenting her version of ‘what do artists do all day?’ which was a series on BBC4 in 2013 and became absolutely hooked on her work, her philosophy especially concerning her relationship with her mother. 

Tracey shot to fame as a result of winning the prestigious Turner prize in 1999 for her critically acclaimed, and equally as criticised, installation artwork ‘My Bed’. Which sent ripples throughout the art world, causing people to debate the definition of ‘art’ because Emin had taken an object from within her house and called it art. As well as presenting a self portrait that confronted the messiness, loneliness and taboo subjects such as sex, abortion and intoxication as a result of a messy breakup. Many viewers, such as myself, connect with the vulnerability of her artwork, how she displays mother-daughter relationships and her presentation of the female form. Many people think most of her work is about sex, but that would suggest that they are unable to look beneath the surface level subject matter of the work. The way in which she shows how the female form should be celebrated for its strength, whilst being fragile and in a position of intense vulnerability is what sparks my interest. 

If you search up ‘Tracey Emin’ on Youtube you will see a plethora of video studies and documentaries about her and her artwork as well as lectures she has done all over the world. Not only is her artwork a source of inspiration for artists and art-lovers alike, but she is also a pioneer for development in the world of art, endeavouring to create her own art school in her home town of Margate. From my point of view, this entrepreneurial spirit that Emin is known for, after setting up ‘The Shop’ with Sarah Lucas, is incredibly inspirational to young artists such as myself because it shows how art, and the careers of artists, is not simply restricted to galleries. TKE studios, named after Tracey’s full name, is her plan to transform Margate into ‘an artist’s haven’ by requiring artists to constantly display their work in spaces around the town. In this way, she is paving a way for future artists by not only creating a designated space for them, but also demonstrating the limitless possibilities that are open to an artist. 

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