Tracey Emin, artist: I’ve been given a second chance

“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 [email protected] 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)