Perhaps more infamous than famous, Tracey Emin finally comes of age with a long overdue retrospective at London’s Hayward Gallery.
Love Is What You Want is the name of the long overdue retrospective for Tracey Emin at the Hayward Gallery in London. Emin was one of the original YBA’s, a group of young British artists that revitalized the art scene, making it cool, accessible and modern for a whole new generation. At the top of the pile were a few stand-out artists who infuriated, delighted and confounded us all with their work. Damien Hirst’s Mother and Child Divided, a piece of work featuring a cow and its calf sliced in half and displayed in tanks of formaldehyde is arguably the most memorable piece of work from this period but running a close second is Emin’s now legendary Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995.
This piece of work took the form of a tent appliquéd with the names of everyone Emin had ever slept with, including her Mother and Grandmother, the piece was often misconstrued as a grotesque list of sexual partners.The baffling controversy surrounding this piece started what would prove to be a long and turbulent relationship between Emin and the media.
My Bed, a piece of work she exhibited in 1999 was again, as the title suggests an installation of a dirty unmade bed replete with condoms, underwear and other unsavoury features. It was the artwork used to represent her Turner Prize nomination for that year, and so upset some people they felt moved to attack it in the gallery. Attacking someone’s art is a deeply troubling act which always has the opposite effect that the attacker intends. The piece became instantly famous and reports of the attack appeared around the world, people queued round the block to see what all the fuss was about.
Sadly neither the bed nor the tent are on display here at the Hayward (the tent has been lost forever in the Saatchi warehouse fire) but there’s still plenty of work to feast your eyes on. There’s a raw and brutal honesty to Emin’s work that can be almost confrontational. Her ability to turn what is personal into something totally public and open is perhaps the quality that best defines her work. What’s on show at the Hayward is everything from painting to photography, neon wall pieces to sculpture, in fact Emin works in virtually every medium, as this show proves. Love her or hate her she’s prolific and talented in every field.
Her public persona has proved as controversial as some of her art over the years. Famously appearing drunk on live TV during a debate on the Turner Prize she walked off stage saying that she was “going home to see her mum”. One time spokesperson for Bombay Sapphire Gin she has also confessed to being an alcoholic…in a way, it is these contradictions that make her so exciting as an artist. It’s unfortunate that her persona and the media’s unnecessary focus on her more controversial pieces of art, should override the rest of what she does. Her neon artworks alone, single phrases and sentences beautifully recreating her own handwriting, are amongst the most touching and moving pieces of art I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.
The detail in her embroidery and appliqué is stunning up close and a testament to her artistry and workmanship that ultimately, is more important than any controversy you might have read about. This retrospective should silence any detractors. To see so much of Emin’s work in one place is overwhelming and emotionally draining in the best way possible. It’s more than enough proof of her value as one of the country’s greatest artists. Go with an open mind and you won’t be disappointed.
Tracey Emin: Love Is What You Want is at the Hayward Gallery London until August 29
Warren Beckett works full time as a powerful wizard, but moonlights as an online journalist. He likes talking in the third person. For frequent updates on how his hair looks follow his Twitter @WarrenBeckett