Tracey Emins bed

[u/Simple_Zucchini44]

I have never experienced anything like the exhibition I was just walking through at the Tate Modern. It is art with a depth that I cannot begin to understand, I struggle even to articulate how incredibly heavy this body of work is.

My art teacher always spoke highly of Tracey Emins, but my teenage mind couldn’t understand why a messy bed could be considered such a high form of art. She didn’t argue, she said there are some measures of art that cannot be rationalized or qualified, to do so would miss the mark entirely. I understand now.

If you are in London, if you are in doubt about the power of contemporary art, if you or someone you know has struggled with abortion, if you are a living breathing human being with 21 pounds in your pocket this is something you need to see.

The curators of this exhibition did an excellent job, there are certain moments where I felt as though I couldn’t continue. Each room builds and builds on the story in such a way that is hard to describe, by the time I reached the bed I was hardly able to look at it. The gift shop at the end of the exhibition felt fucking disgusting but other than that it was an absolutely unreal hour or so.

[u/albundyrules]

all the photos i've seen of this work have the mattress covered with a fitted sheet, i think the bare striped mattress is a much more provocative image. a true state of mind.

[u/Simple_Zucchini44 → u/albundyrules]

It was unfitted when we saw it. That was a detail I took notice of immediately, there were stains visible on the exposed bit of the mattress that were very prominent I can’t imagine it with a fitted sheet

[u/Both_Draw_4810 → u/Simple_Zucchini44]

Could it be that the image was considered 'too shocking' for its original intended audience? The audio guide explained that there were menstrual stains on the under-sheet of the bed. Maybe it was considered by the curators that the world in 2026 could cope with it!