Tracey Emin, artist: I’ve been given a second chance
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 537 Ratings
🗓️ 16 March 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
“When you've been really nihilistic in your life when you're younger, and then you feel you've been given a second chance.”
Emma Barnett speaks to artist Dame Tracey Emin about her life and career.
Emin rose to fame in the 1990s as a disruptor of the art world, with her works, such as the sculpture ‘My Bed’, gaining widespread media attention. Having been at the forefront of the modern art scene for over three decades, a solo exhibition has now opened at the Tate Modern in London showcasing 40 years of her work.
She’s well-known for channelling her life experiences into her artwork. Following a troubled childhood, in which she was a victim of sexual abuse, Emin battled alcohol addiction throughout her adult life. However, she gave up alcohol after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2020 - which is now in remission.
Emin views the experience as a ‘second life’, and believes the lifestyle change has been for the better.
Thank you to the Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, free speech campaigner Maria Ressa, and Olympic cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presenter: Emma Barnett Producers: Ben Cooper, Mark Ward and Clare Williamson Editor: Justine Lang and Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Tracey Emin posing beside her artwork during a preview of her upcoming show, Tracey Emin: A Second Life at The Tate Modern in London. Credit: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Hello, I'm BBC presenter Emma Barnett, |
| 0:08.6 | and this is the interview from the BBC World Service, |
| 0:12.1 | the best conversations coming out of the BBC, |
| 0:15.1 | people shaping our world from all over the world. |
| 0:18.8 | If you're not a little bit afraid, then you're not paying attention. |
| 0:23.5 | We have never seen a people so united. |
| 0:27.0 | Do not make that boat crossing. Do not make that journey. |
| 0:29.7 | Being born in America, feeling American, having people treat me like I'm not. |
| 0:33.8 | We're more popular than populism. |
| 0:37.0 | For this interview, I met the British artist Dame Tracy Eman here at the BBC in London. |
| 0:43.0 | She rose to fame in the 90s as a total disruptor of the art world, a member of the YBAs. |
| 0:48.5 | Remember them? Young British artists. |
| 0:51.2 | Her work, such as the sculpture, My Bed, gained widespread media attention and caused |
| 0:56.2 | a fair share of controversy. Having been at the forefront of the modern art scene for over three |
| 1:01.5 | decades, a solo exhibition, her biggest to date, has now opened at the Tate Modern in London, |
| 1:07.4 | showcasing 40 years of her work. She's well known for channeling her life experiences |
| 1:13.2 | into her art. Following a difficult childhood, in which, among many things, she survived sexual |
| 1:19.4 | abuse, Emmyn battled alcohol addiction throughout her adult life. However, she gave up drink |
| 1:25.6 | after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2020, which is now in remission. |
| 1:32.4 | Tracy Eamon views this whole experience and surviving cancer as a second life. |
| 1:37.3 | When you've been really nihilistic in your life, when you've been younger, and then you feel sort of for want a better, yeah, second life, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.