Tracey Emin: ‘I want to be a happy ghost’

Life and Art from FT Weekend

Forhecz Topher

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture

4.6 • 601 Ratings

🗓️ 15 January 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, we’ve got two GOATs – that’s Greatests Of All Time. Legendary artist Tracey Emin is starting an art school and studio compound in Margate, England, the seaside town where she grew up. On the week of her winning the Whitechapel Art Icon Award, we speak to Emin about the legacy she’s building and examine the work that came before, from scandalous installations like “My Bed” to her more contemplative work. Then, the FT’s wine columnist Jancis Robinson teaches us about the world of wine. Robinson was the first non-winemaker to receive the title of Master of Wine from the Institute of Masters of Wine, the world’s most prestigious wine organisation.

--------------

Looking for a discount on an FT subscription? Use this link for special offers specifically for listeners of the show: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast

--------------

Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at [email protected]. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.

--------------

Links and mentions from the episode:

– Louis Wise’s interview with Tracey Emin for How To Spend It: https://www.ft.com/content/ffd55216-7751-43d3-9ad8-f495cb08d7c7

–Tracey Emin’s video “Why I Never Became a Dancer” (1995): https://www.artforum.com/video/tracey-emin-why-i-never-became-a-dancer-1995-49262

–A free online exhibition of Emin's video works between 1995 and 2017 (Xavier Hufkens): https://www.xavierhufkens.com/exhibitions/video-works-1995-2017

–Jancis Robinson’s Wine Course (Youtube, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNahwe1nPHc&list=PL0smQshvSba5YYij7-R1HM-HT04woET9A

–Jancis’ latest column, “Bargain Burgundy”: https://www.ft.com/content/c59f4150-b431-4202-b7f3-60fab84ac4fb

–Jancis on the truth about the wine world and diversity (no paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/3dc097fc-dbd8-4248-82e6-69d5acc1b169

--------------

Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design is by Breen Turner.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	A heads up before we begin. This episode has some adult language and sexual themes that may be upsetting.
0:06.7	So do plan you're listening accordingly.
0:12.2	I never liked school. I was always late. In fact, I hated it.
0:22.5	I'm watching a video. It's called Why I Never Became a Dancer by the British artist Tracy
0:27.5	Emin. It's from 1995. You can't hear this, but the visuals are grainy. It looks like it was taken
0:34.2	from an old motion picture camera. We're in Emmons' hometown of Margate in England.
0:39.9	But we don't see her.
0:41.1	They're just kind of random scenes.
0:43.1	Seagulls on a boardwalk, a fish and chip shop,
0:46.0	a woman trying to win a stuffed toy with a claw.
0:49.0	The summer was amazing.
0:50.9	Nothing to do but dream.
0:52.9	And then there was sex. It was something you could just do and it was for free
0:57.9	it didn't matter that I was young 13 14 it didn't matter that they were men of 19 20 25 26 I remember the
1:08.0	first time someone asked me to grab their balls. I remember the power it gave me.
1:14.0	By the time I was 15, I'd had them all. And for me, Margate was too small.
1:19.8	By the time Emin was growing up, Margate was already very seedy. And it became much seededy, or it became really abandoned and neglected.
1:31.2	That's Jan Daly, our arts editor.
1:33.6	So the images that accompany this really, really, yeah, harrowing, I found it harrowing,
1:39.8	account, are also quite sad.
1:43.1	Emin tells the story of being 15 and entering a ballroom dance
1:47.0	competition. It's her ticket out of town. She makes it to the local finals, but as she dances,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Forhecz Topher, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Forhecz Topher and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.