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The UK artist Tracey Emin has had a rollercoaster of a life, often harrowingly documented in her art. Her latest exhibition at London’s Tate Modern, Second Life, was inspired by the profound changes to her life and work following a bladder cancer diagnosis in 2020. “My life changed so dramatically since my cancer: it is just so much better, so much happier, so much more fulfilling,” she recently told The Art Newspaper. The exhibition’s assistant curator, Jess Baxter, has selected five key books about Emin.
Strangeland (2006) by Tracey Emin
“Tracey Emin’s brilliant, searing autobiography takes us from the beginnings of her wild, messy and often terrifying childhood in Margate, through her travels to sun-drenched Turkey and Cyprus tracing her paternal heritage, to some of the worst moments of her life, with painful honesty. It’s made up of short, punchy chapters, loose poems, even a passage of abortion advice. The style is incredibly readable, as if Emin is whispering her life story to you and only you.”
Tracey Emin: Works 1963-2006 (2006) by Carl Freedman and Honey Luard
“Sadly not in print any more but if you can find it, it’s invaluable. It is interspersed with conversations between Emin and her long-term friend, the gallerist Carl Freedman. The interviews hold all the questions that you could want to ask Emin—about how she approaches art-making, the importance of painting, her reflections on sex and passion.”
Tracey Emin Paintings (2024) by David Dawson, Jennifer Higgie and Tracey Emin
“This is a beautiful publication bound in Emin’s trademark crimson. Brilliantly illustrated, the book includes an essay by Jennifer Higgie who writes so feelingly about the emotional charge of Emin’s painting, her favourite medium. Looking through the 300 glossy images, you begin to learn the motifs and symbolism in Emin’s acrylic paint.”
Tracey Emin: My Photo Album (2013) by Tracey Emin, Damon Murray and Stephen Sorrell
“For an artist who mines their life for rich artistic material, a photo album is one of the best ways to get closer to their practice. This charts Emin’s life in snapshots—from family pictures with her twin brother Paul, to Emin in punky 80s hair and makeup, and her early success as an artist. It’s amazing to see the extremely well-known works, like the blankets or tent, in the process of making, or glimpsed in the corner of small galleries or humble studios.”
My Heart Is This: Tracey Emin on Painting (2026) by Martin Gayford
“This gracefully locates her work within the long lineage of Western art history. The book provides insights into the stark changes—physical, emotional, artistic—of Emin’s life after she was diagnosed with squamous cell bladder cancer in 2020. It shows Emin’s determination to not let cancer take away the thing she loves doing the most.”
• Maria Balshaw and Alvin Li (eds), Tracey Emin: A Second Life, Tate Gallery Publications, 280pp, £45 (hb), £32 (pb)
• Tracey Emin: A Second Life, Tate Modern, London, until 31 August
