I recently went to the Tracey Emin retrospective at the Hayward Gallery. Featuring previously seldom shown early works along with newer pieces, it was amazing to see such a vast body of her work displayed together. Emin's work is pretty diverse and initially I was curious to see how it would all sit together. However, careful curation meant that not only did the exhibition flow pretty nicely, it also literally felt like stepping into someone's deepest thoughts. I've always really enjoyed the confessional and narrative aspects of her work. A personal highlight for me was her videos, in particular 'Why I Never Became A Dancer' (1995). Whilst I was there I took some sly photographs with my Minolta:
One of my favourite photographs of hers is 'I've Got It All' (2000) in which Emin is seen clutching multiple foreign currencies to her crotch. Created during a time in which Emin was beginning to gain worldwide recognition and financial success, at first glance one would assume that Emin was being brash and almost boastful. When you think about it more though it's as if everything she is claiming to 'have' is materialistic and in actual fact she perhaps has nothing of any real worth.
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