Tracey Emin and Francis Bacon

New display at Tate Britain curated by Tracey Emin to mark the return of her bed to the gallery.

She includes some of her recent figure drawings in the room along with some paintings by Francis Bacon. In the commentary it says that both Emin and Bacon “retain a strong sense of the lived presence and memory traces of past events”. I guess that means they try to capture a moment in time while recognising that by definition by the time it is recorded it is past. Showing the bed with the Bacon’s does give a sense of what the purpose of it might have been but I’m not sure they sit well together.

As for the bed itself, I get what it’s trying to do, I admire what it’s trying to do, I’m just not sure I want to look at it! I guess the optimist in me would want to pick a happier, tidier moment to record. Maybe mine would be called “My bed on a Tuesday after the cleaner’s been”! She does plump the pillows up really nicely and I do like nice bedding!

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