Tracey Emin: A Second Life at Tate Modern

Next spring, Tate Modern will present Tracey Emin: A Second Life, the most ambitious survey of the celebrated British artist’s 40-year career. Spanning painting, sculpture, video, neon, textiles, and installation, the exhibition charts Emin’s unapologetic exploration of passion, pain, and healing, offering an intimate view into a practice that has transformed contemporary art.

Tracey Emin said: “This show, titled A Second Life, will be a benchmark for me. A moment in my life when I look back and go forward. A true celebration of living.”

The show traces Emin’s journey from her early works in the 1990s, including tiny photographs of destroyed art school paintings and confessional videos like Why I Never Became a Dancer (1995), to her Turner Prize–nominated My Bed (1998) and recent monumental bronzes such as I Followed You Until The End (2023). Emin’s lifelong connection to her hometown of Margate is highlighted throughout, from early reflections in Mad Tracey From Margate: Everybody’s Been There (1997) to works inspired by Dreamland amusement park, revealing how personal history and memory infuse her art.

The exhibition confronts trauma and taboo, addressing sexual assault, abortion, illness, and survival with works like I could have Loved my Innocence (2007), Is This a Joke (2009), and The Last of the Gold (2002). Recent pieces, including Ascension (2024), reflect Emin’s experiences of cancer, surgery, and disability, blending vulnerability with resilience.

Curated in close collaboration with Emin, A Second Life features over 90 works, culminating in ambitious large-scale paintings and sculptures that explore a transcendent, present-focused vision of life. The exhibition extends beyond the gallery walls with monumental bronzes outside Tate Modern, inviting the public to engage with Emin’s visceral, confessional world.

Tracey Emin: A Second Life runs 26 February – 30 August 2026 in the Eyal Ofer Galleries at Tate Modern, in partnership with Gucci.

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