City gets into bed with Tracey

Published on Monday 17 December 2007 09:38

IT is a work that sparked huge controversy and made artist Tracey Emin a household name.

My Bed – a recreation of her unmade bed scattered with underwear and litter – is set to take centre stage at an exhibition in Edinburgh.

Art lovers in the Capital will have the chance to make up their own minds on the piece in the first retrospective show of Emin's work in Britain.

The artwork, which represents a stage of Emin's life when she spent several days in bed with suicidal depression, first went on show at the Tate Gallery in 1999. It was shortlisted for the Turner Prize and was later bought by multi-millionaire art patron Charles Saatchi for 150,000.

The entire ground floor of the National Gallery for Modern Art on Belford Road will be given over to the exhibition in August.

Patrick Elliot, the museum's curator, said: "Tracey Emin is probably one of the most important figures in art today because along with Damian Hirst she has made works of art that people, particularly teenagers, can relate to on an emotional level and has opened up the world of art to a whole new audience.

"It is a thrill to know that such a major artist is coming to Edinburgh.

"Tracey has very kindly said she will exhibit some of her earliest pieces, which are rarely seen, and we are also extremely hopeful that her work My Bed – which is probably one of the most iconic pieces of late 20th century art – can form a major part of the show."

More than 70 Emin works will be on show, including a set of prints dealing with themes of sex, abortion, the artist and her parents.

Mr Elliot said Emin had visited Edinburgh a number of times in recent months to get ideas for the retrospective and that staff were looking forward to working with her.

"She has staged exhibitions around the word and she is so professional to work with, although it is known that when she is working it is often late at night and for very long hours," he said.

"The installations are expected to be quite large and so there will be a lot of work for the gallery staff, but they are all looking forward to it, and see it as a challenge, to help her create something stunning."

Emin destroyed much of her early work in the late 1980s during battles with depression.

The 44-year-old, who was born in London and brought up in Margate, is renowned for her confessional style, with works about her sex life, abortions and drinking.

Deidre Brock, the city's culture leader, said: "Tracey Emin is an artist whose work never fails to spark controversy and huge public interest, so I'm sure her exhibition will go down a storm in Edinburgh.

"It will be a great addition to the fantastic cultural events taking place in the city next year."