A Videocall with Tracey Emin | Tate

Why It Matters

The discussion re‑frames Emin’s “My Bed” as a pioneering self‑portrait that spotlights mental‑health struggles, influencing how museums engage audiences with personal, vulnerable art.

Key Takeaways

• Emin’s 1998 ‘My Bed’ installation revisited via video call.
• Bed serves as vessel reflecting her emotional breakdown and recovery.
• Emin claims she pioneered self‑portrait concept before social media era.
• Intimate bedroom objects underscore vulnerability and everyday truth in artwork.
• Tate’s platform amplifies dialogue on mental health and contemporary art.

Summary

The Tate video call brings Tracey Emin back to her seminal 1998 installation, “My Bed,” allowing the artist to narrate the work’s origins and its continued relevance. In a candid conversation, Emin describes the disheveled bed as a literal vessel that lifted her from a period of emotional collapse, turning a private bedroom into a public artwork.

Emin emphasizes that the bed’s surrounding objects—sweets, personal items, and the rumpled sheets—serve as raw evidence of vulnerability, turning everyday detritus into a self‑portrait of crisis and recovery. She also asserts that she “invented the self‑portrait and the selfie” long before digital platforms, positioning the installation as an early exploration of identity through personal space.

Memorable moments include her remark, “the most intimate part of your house is your bedroom,” and the observation that the bed, once a sanctuary, now functions as a cultural artifact. The dialogue underscores how the piece blurs the line between life and art, inviting viewers to confront mental‑health narratives within a museum context.

By revisiting “My Bed” on a digital platform, Tate amplifies conversations about mental health, authenticity, and the evolving definition of self‑portraiture, reinforcing the work’s status as a touchstone for contemporary art and public discourse.

Original Description

Love making, recovery, and intimacy all combine in Tracey Emin's 1998 work, 'My Bed'. Go behind the scenes with the artist and Harry Weller, Creative Director of her studio, as they inspect the elements that make up this iconic work, ahead of installing it as part of our new exhibition, Tracey Emin: A Second Life - now open at Tate Modern, until 31 August 2026.

Find out more: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/tracey-emin

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