Alumna Emin to show at Turner Contemporary
University for the Creative Arts (UCA) graduate Tracey Emin is returning to her roots for a special homecoming exhibition in Kent.
The Turner Prize nominee, who studied at UCA Rochester and UCA Maidstone during the 1980s, will open her first solo show on 26 May 2012 at Turner Contemporary in her home town of Margate.
She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea is conceived specially for Margate, where Emin grew up and which has provided inspiration for many of her most famous artworks.
Tracey Emin said: "I still can't really believe that I'm showing in Margate.
"Even in my wildest dreams I could never believe there would be a gallery like Turner Contemporary there, so on one level I'm really chuffed and excited but on another I am as nervous as hell.
"The brilliant thing about Margate is it's one hour from London on the train so I'm hoping lots of people will come and visit not just my show but the beautiful sunsets and sandy beaches."
The exhibition will explore the themes of love, sex and romanticism in Emin's oeuvre. It will feature new works, including drawings, monoprints, sculptures, tapestries, embroideries and neons and will be installed throughout Turner Contemporary's suite of first-floor galleries.
Its central themes are continued in a group of sketches and paintings of erotic subjects by Tracey Emin, JMW Turner and Auguste Rodin, whose iconic sculpture The Kiss is on show in the Sunley Gallery at Turner Contemporary.
Victoria Pomery, Director at Turner Contemporary, said: "We are thrilled to be working with Tracey on this exhibition of new work, which considers Tracey's extensive oeuvre in a new light."
To mark the launch of Tracey Emin's new exhibition, Margate's rock and roll foursome Two Wounded Birds will make a rare home-town appearance.
The band are playing a special gig in the Foyle Rooms at Turner Contemporary on Saturday 26 May at 8pm. Tickets are £5 (£4 concessions).
For more information contact:
David Reilly, Press Officer, UCA
T: 01252 892939
E: dreilly@ucreative.ac.uk
