Tracey Emin’s Cult of the Self

A Hyperallergic review of Tracey Emin’s retrospective “A Second Life” at Tate Modern in London argues that Emin’s work centers on extreme self-introspection and relies heavily on text—titles and written statements—for meaning. The article situates Emin within the Young British Artists movement of the 1990s alongside Damien Hirst and notes her later establishment within the British art world, including her Turner Prize nomination in 1999 and her role as professor of drawing at the Royal Academy from 2011 to 2013. It highlights works such as “Tracey Emin C.V.” (1995), “Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made” (1996), and the painting “Rape” (2018), describing the exhibition as loosely chronological with minimal curatorial context beyond a brief introductory panel. The review characterizes the practice as “art as therapy,” focused on personal experiences including trauma, love, desire, loss, and grief.

Read the full article at Hyperallergic