Tracey Emin On The Road With...

Road With... Tracey Emin. Tracey Emin came to prominence in the

1990s and was seen as one of the Young British Artists. She is known

both for her public image and her art work, some of which is sexually

explicit. Everybody knows about the tent and the bed. To make two

pieces of seminal art in a lifetime is quite amazing, after that, it

did not matter if I did anything ever again really. As an artist,

she has divided opinion. I spent the day with her as she prepared

for an exhibition. We started at her London studio. Tell me about

what the day has in store? Today is quite complicated because I am

installing at the Hayward Gallery but I like to come into the studio

and just get everything going. I have the carpet being done upstairs

in the kitchen. I would like to have a swim because I'm in a very

foul mood today and I'm angry. Today is not the right time to be

doing this. I'm going to try to have a swim and get rid of a bit of

my anger. Buy him a bit stressed out. -- I am. That is what we're

going to do. You were going to go sailing yesterday? There was too

much wind. All of my physical outdoor pursuits have been

scuppered this weekend. Being in your studio is a good chance to ask

you about what it is like being an artist. What is it like like?

a huge responsibility, not just a creative pursuit. You must be

responsible for what you have already created and what you will

create in the future. That is a lot of pressure. Sometimes I find it

all a bit too much, but at the moment I am very happy with my show

and I'm very positive about it. It is the biggest moment of my career.

I am over-excited with it all. I have butterflies. Would you like a

tour of the studio? There are bits of sewing around. I have been doing

a series of Picasso drawings of myself. This is one of them. It

looks good actually. It is the first time I have seen it. You have

been doing self-portraits in the style of Picasso? Something like

that. I had a private view card of one of the portraits he did and I

started drawing it. I ended up drawing myself. This is my archive.

All of these books, I am in. You must have this depending on your

position in your career. Younger artists will not have this. As you

get older, it is necessary and vital. When I die, all of this must

be registered and accounted for. All of the work. Without the

archive, it can't be. Two years ago, this was a hole in the ground. This

is where I work and where I think. We often have board meetings here.

So this is where Tracey Emin sits and draws? Yes. How many drawings

would you do on a working week? don't work like that. I might not

draw for three months and then I will do a hundred drawings. It

depends on the mood that I am in. It is fair to say that you are

prolific though? But not all the time. A lot of the time, I am doing

other things. Sorting out the bookshelves or going to flea

markets, looking for things that inspire me. This would inspire you?

To tell the future. So this is the drawing desk and the thinking desk?

I am going to have an etch press up here so I can do those. This is

where I project on the wall what I am drawing. I can put my drawings

up so they are not all on the floor. Would you do your thinking here?

I'll do my thinking in the swimming pool in a mool in a mo is my

bedroom. It is sad at the moment because I had a beautiful tapestry

that hangs here usually but it has been taken away for the show.

you actually live here? I sleep here if I am tired or not well.

Rather than going home. It is better that I come in here and they

can wake me up rather than being at home. Next week we will plant the

garden. It can only be planted in the spring. It will be very nice up

here. It has very strict lines. Would you like me to shut the

doors? Just leave them open. This is the painting and sculpture

studio. This time last week, it was completely full. But all the works

have gone to the gallery. How do you decide what medium to use?

depends what mood I'm in. If you were working today, what mood would

you be in? I would be in a shopping mood. I think. I would probably go

shopping to get some new clothes. I think clay would be quite good

because you can do it and not really think about it. What

different media do you use? Neon, sculpture, textiles, embroidery,

clay, drawing, mono print, printing, photography, Polaroids, film, video.

What else do I use? Those are the main mediums that I work in. This

is my store cupboard. I really hope I have a swimsuit with me. You have

to take your shoes off. Why do you swim? I get too much negative

energy and I do not like it. When you go into the water, you are

released of that. I like being in another element. Do you think when

you are swimming? In the water, I feel light and free. Yes. I think

and I count. Where have you studied? I studied at the College

of Art from 1983 to 1986 with a first-class honours degree. Then I

got into the Royal College of Art to study painting. I added a part-

time philosophy course for a few years. I have three honorary PhDs.

Dr Dr Dr Emin. Tell us about the pool. It is 18 metres and there is

just enough water to dive in. It is a dream. I have always wanted to

have my own pool. My swim Eilat. -- a lot. Usually when you go to the

gym, you must fight off stockbrokers. I do it to relax and

get some positive energy together. It makes you feel like Cleopatra or

something. It is like a big bath. It is very warm. Swimming is a

natural part of me. Art got me this. I have to pinch myself sometimes.

Do you feel proud of what you have achieved? Not in a silly way. I

know that it has the ability to inspire other people. Being an

artist, you do not have to be starving, you just must be focused.

The alchemy of the art and how it can transform into other things. I

never try to make money, I make art. And art has made me this. The money

follows the art? Yes. I think if I tried to make money I would be very

good at it. It is very hard to make art. I think it is easier to make

money. It is off to the Hayward Gallery where Tracey is working on

the installation of her exhibition. Where was your father from?

father is from Cyprus. He grew up in a Greek village and spoke

Turkish with a Greek accent and English with a Greek accent. My

great grandfather was from the Sudan. What about your mother?

London. I was born in Croydon. did you move to Margate? When I was

three. How did you first to decide to become an artist? Was it a

conscious decision? There was no conscious choice. It made its

decision for me. When were you first recognised by other people as

an artist? People thought I was talented at school. I have always

been creative and made things. I think 1997 was a big deciding

We have Tracey Emin the artist in the gallery. Can you tell us what

you have been doing here? I had them made as a prototype. I wanted

my cat to be able to look out the window of my house. These were

prototype cat spirals. I have hundreds of them in my studio. They

all got broken up. They never actually worked. It did not really

work. I just had them in my studio, all thrown against the wall.

Occasionally I would move them around. I had a show in New York. I

decided to take the cat spirals with me and to make a sculpture. It

is quite complicated. It's about the different energies. If the

lightning hits the wood, we would have an almighty bonfire. That was

the kind of idea about the two energies coming together. It is the

balance and the helix of the spiral and how it relates to the human. It

is called Sleeping With You. It is about transfer of energy and love.

For people who find my work a bit too much in-your-face, this is

another aspect of my work which not many people have a chance to see.

When I showed this in New York I got very good reviews. When you say,

"sleeping with you", do you mean sleeping with who? Not sleeping

with you Matt. Sleeping with you as in sleeping with everyone. Sleeping

with the world and entity. Understanding that there are others

worlds and Other places. Are you in it or not? I am definitely in it

because it is my work. Otherwise I would not have been able to make it.

You see a lightning streak and a lot of spirals. It is about energy.

I want to ask a little bit about your audience. Do you have an

audience in mind when you make your art? No. Unless I am in love, then

Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur as well as an artist?

I am an artist. I have done such projects when I had been really in

a tight area. To get the money to do something. One of my first ones

was for people to invest in my creative potential for �10. Do you

have a piece of art that you are proudest of? It varies. It moves

around. It is like having lots of lovers. Having a weird love affair.

Yesterday it was the neons. The day before, it was something else. Now

I am in love with the wooden sculptures upstairs. Tomorrow I may

be in love with all the intimate work that is in the family rooms.

It varies. To make two pieces of seminal art in a lifetime is quite

an amazing thing. How do you see the relationship between your

public image, your fame, your celebrity, and your artwork, you as

an artist? Hopefully the show will change people's opinions. There is

a side of me that is making art all the time. Even if I am not making

art, I am always busy and productive. I like being productive.

I like feeling energised and I like making things. I have a creative

soul. How do you think the next ten years will map out for you as an

artist? I do not know. I may have different answers from week to week.

It is the same as usual. Me and my cat at my house, me falling asleep

on the table. Me getting up early. Just me, me, me. It is unfortunate.

Why have you chosen to bring in your private life and personal

experiences in your artwork? I do not think that is private. Love is

what you want. Why is that private? It is just a statement. Women go to

work, in the afternoon, they go and have an abortion, and they are back

at work afterwards. They cannot tell everyone. This is wrong. I am

saying that what I make is not personal. How do you see your

public image? I do not see my public image, I see myself.

when you read the papers... Lots of things I do not read any more. But

I do know that they change people's perceptions of me. I think it makes

things very difficult. On a personal level, how people perceive

me. I gave a talk at the ICA the other week. I know it is impossible

for me to have a normal relationship because of the

position that I have put myself in, which makes me very sad. How do you

define art? For me, art is an expression of myself. If my soul

cannot release itself, I would If you had been an artist in the

Renaissance period, who would you have been? I would have been burnt.

Why? I do not think I would have survived during that period of

history. I would have been too exceptionally strange. Do you like

the Renaissance artists? I do. I like early Renaissance paintings.

When I was younger, I would go to the National Gallery, downstairs in

the basement, as it had to be protected from light. I would catch

the bus to Trafalgar Square, go to the National Gallery, go inside. I

would come out and imagine the next painting I see is mine. Do you go

to art exhibitions? I do not do it enough. When I do go to shows and

exhibitions, I am so happy. I walk around an exhibition, I read

everything, in other countries, I go to museums as well. Especially

when I am alone travelling, it makes me feel as if art is my

friend. Do you feel that art is your friend generally? Art is my

soul, it is everything to me. I would not be me. How would you

describe your art? Free. I want to be a free spirit, to have a free

soul. I do not want it to be censored. I always say to people, I

have a conversation with myself about what I am doing. I am my

first censor. I am my first judge. A lot of people do not appreciate

that. A lot of people are very harsh toward me but they do not

realise how harsh I am to myself. To create something and to justify

continuously what you have made. At times I have to defend that bed.

For the rest of my life, I will have to defend and fight. People

just do not understand the responsibility. Being an artist is

a great responsibility. You are putting things in the world. Some

things will stay here after I am gone. People will have to protect

them and vouch for them after I am gone. That is a lot of

responsibility. What would you like your legacy to be? If I know what

it will be. I will leave that as a legacy. People can use my museum

and research. Whether people like my work or not, it will be

interesting to see how a 21st century female artist operated and

worked in London. It is like going to the museum in Paris. It is a

beautiful museum. It will be a beautiful experience. It will be

nice to see how a woman worked within that time. Do you see

yourself as a rebel? No. But around about 80, I will be considered to