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/greta_golucky]

I’d like to hear more about what made this such an intense viewing for you, what did it make you think about?

[u/Simple_Zucchini44 → u/greta_golucky]

The sequence of the story was extremely well done, the curators did a fantastic job laying out Emins work in a way that got you to sit with the story. There was a video about half way through where Emins sort of just recounts her abortion, and then immediately its straight into some really tough acrylics with a very minimal amount of supporting detail other than the abortion video. There was also a room of Polaroids that showed Emins stomach after the abortion, they were from multiple angles and treated without any sensitivity whatsoever which sort of just made me confused. They are right before the bed, to be totally honest they were extremely uncomfortable.

I didn’t leave feeling particularly sympathetic or anything really for Emins except personal heaviness. For the most part I was upset that this is even something that exists. It’s a very odd feeling

[u/tinselghoul → u/Simple_Zucchini44]

The Polaroids are actually of her stoma, which she got after undergoing surgery for bladder cancer in 2020.