A Journey To Death is Tracey Emin’s latest work that explores the trauma of surgery for the cancer that almost claimed her life. Clockwise: "Hurt Heart, Crying – Shouting – Screaming – Was Not Going To Help Me Live, Life Will Never Be The Same (Nor Should It), Then I Wasn’t Alone Life Was Here, Even Saying Nothing Is A Lie, And This Was Me A Thousand Years Ago, You Were There Thank You, No! This Is Sad, A Feeling Of Shock, The Best Conversation I Ever Had – Laughter." The artist has been painting, drawing and photographing herself for a long time, but these latest nudes are her grandest and most painfully resonant work yet. Emin has always made art about her physical existence and subjects that had felt unspeakably private, from sexual assault, devastating heartbreak, ambivalence around motherhood, grief and longing, to the adolescent sexuality and menopause. Her work offers companionship for many women going though difficult and painful experiences.
“ If I’m not making art, I don’t feel alive. A big part of me will feel dead: I’m not Tracey, I don’t exist. I felt so much better after this work. It’s like, ‘Ah – ah – ah – I’m alive! „