Tracey Emin: I need Art like I need God

The exhibition I Need Art Like I Need God is a significant survey of Tracey Emin’s now internationally-acclaimed past and present work. As an artist whose reputation and following has grown dramatically during the last three years, Emin is regarded as one of the most interesting artists working on the London scene. This exhibition creates an opportunity for the artist to show a broad range of work in characteristically varied media including neon, photography, video, film, soft sculpture and hand-sewn texts.

Tracey Emin crafts striking and richly provocative art forms from a series of personal life experiences. Sensations of being alive, of knowing love and failure, seeing death and still having faith, are conveyed in a compellingly expressive manner. Often starting with the written word, Emin translates her personal world into visual representations, and then accosts the viewer with moments of spiritual complexity snatched from the banal.

Emin’s work is contemporary without being obscure. She addresses the human condition in a way that is personal but also accessible to a broad audience. Whether her work is in video, neon, or needlework, she uses the medium appropriate to her message and communicates in a direct and unambiguous way. This quality in her work gives the viewer access to layers of narrative and meaning that are both intimate and universal.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a 64-page illustrated catalogue containing an essay by artist and critic Neil Brown, an interview with the artist by author and European gallery director Oscar van de Boudegaarde, and a series of vox pop statements about Emin and her art by Georgina Starr, Sarah Lucas, Carl Freedman and others. It will also contain 10 pages of Emin’s drawings and hand-written stories.

Tracey Emin
I need Art like I need God