In 1998, My Bed shook the art world. An unmade mattress, stained and sagging under the weight of everyday chaos, littered with condoms, half-drunk vodka bottles, lubricant and overflowing ashtrays.
It was intimate. It was raw. It was brutally, unapologetically human. And it was Tracey Emin, laid bare.
Now, after more than a decade away from public view, that infamous bed forms the heart of Tate Modern's sweeping retrospective, Tracey Emin: A Second Life.
Spanning forty years, the exhibition traces the artist’s fearless journey through pain, desire, and survival - a confessional universe where the personal becomes universal.
The infamous bed installation plus searing self portraits of the celebrated British artist, Tracey Emin, are at the centre of a major retrospective of her work in London.
Tracey Emin: A Second Life, is on at Tate Modern and spans four decades of the artist’s radical career. The show features over 90 works, including the famous Turner Prize-nominated My Bed (1998) and the immersive Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made (1996).
Exploring Emin’s multitude of mediums
It is her paintings that Harry Weller (Emin's creative director and who has worked for the artist for the last 17 years) is hoping will gain better recognition.
He says: "Tracey is known for her bed, but maybe in a few years I would actually like her to be known more for her paintings. She is a serious painter. I think she will stand the test of time with her paintings."
"Not many artists work in such a variety of mediums. And in this exhibition you have film, photography, performance. installation, sculpture, drawing, neon, prints. And then of course, these paintings. So, I think this is a testament to how triumphant she is in all of those mediums," he adds.
For the artist herself, the retrospective is a moment of reckoning. “It cements her place,” Weller reflects. “Not just commercially, but historically. This is recognition of a lifetime’s work, at the perfect moment.”
Her paintings share the same honesty that she has been associated with throughout her career and capture dark moments in the artist's life - from carrying her mother's ashes, to recovering from cancer overlooked by a grim reaper figure.
By blending the public and private, Emin continues to use the female body to explore profound themes of trauma, healing, and autobiography.
Emin and Harry Weller worked closely alongside the Tate in putting together the exhibition and, unsurprisingly, the artist is thrilled to receive a major retrospective.
"She knows that this has sort of cemented her blue chip," says Weller. "This is putting her in the history of art. She's up there. you know we do these commercial shows, and it's great to showcase her new work but being in such a prestigious museum and waiting for the right time, the right opportunity. and now just feels like the right time."
The visceral power of Emin's work
Estelle Lovatt, an art critic and historian thinks the show is one of the best she has seen lately. She says: "It almost took me to a state of near unconsciousness. Because it's just so powerful. It's so visceral. And Emin's place today in the art world. It's not just the portrait. It's not just the person. There's a presence that seems to be seeping out of the canvas."
Emin's unapologetic focus on the female experience, exploring love, loss, and resilience has cemented her legacy as a cultural icon in the British art scene and, according to Lovatt, cements her as a portrait artist alongside the very greatest.
She says: "It's so honest as a self-portrait. It's like okay, we had Rembrandt. Rembrandt was brilliant at self-portraiture, but move over. Rembrandt. We've got Emin now."
Tracey Emin: A Second Life runs until 31 August 2026 at London's Tate Modern.
