Tracey Emin

Something for the Future

 

For some years Tracey Emin has been interested in the social behaviour of meerkats, small mammals that live together in an egalitarian order in the Kalahari Desert, southern Africa. She has noticed that ‘whenever Britain is in crisis or, as a nation, is experiencing sadness and loss (for example, after Princess Diana’s funeral), the next programme on television is Meerkats United’. Emin proposes to place a sculpture of a small group of meerkats on the empty plinth as a symbol of unity and safety.

Biography

Tracey Emin’s art is one of disclosure, using her life events as inspiration for works ranging from painting, drawing, video and installation, to photography, needlework and sculpture.  Emin reveals her hopes, humiliations, failures and successes in candid and, at times, excoriating work that is frequently both tragic and humorous.

Tracey Emin was born in London in 1963 and lives and works in London. She has exhibited internationally including solo shows at the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Haus der Kunst (Munich) and Modern Art Oxford in 2002, Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia) 2003 and Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul in 2004.

In June 2007 Tracey Emin was made a Royal Academician and represented Britain at the 52nd Venice Biennale.