The Interview: Tracey Emin, Artist — "I’ve Been Given a Second Chance"
BBC World Service / Host: Emma Barnett / Air Date: March 16, 2026
Episode Overview
In this moving and revealing conversation, host Emma Barnett interviews British artist Dame Tracey Emin, known for her deeply personal and often provocative works. Emin reflects on her 40-year career, her ongoing major retrospective at Tate Modern, and her life-changing battle with cancer. Topics include art as healing, revisiting her iconic work "My Bed," the evolving role of women in the art world, feminism, the impact of trauma, and embracing life after surviving a terminal diagnosis. Emin's signature candor and vivid storytelling offer both inspiration and an unflinching look at survival, creativity, and resilience.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Second Life: Surviving Cancer & Transforming Perspective
- Emin describes surviving an aggressive cancer as a "second life," a pivotal moment of transformation and reflection.
- Quote: "When you've been really nihilistic in your life, when you've been younger... you've been given a second chance. Maybe I felt remorseful as well about the indulgence of how I lived and what I did and how I... But I was everyone, you know, like, alcoholics don't want to be alcoholics, you know, drug abusers don't want to be drug addicts. People don't choose to be that way." — Tracey Emin [02:47]
- After aggressive treatment, including the removal of several organs, Emin found renewed determination to care for herself and her art.
- Quote: "It's really hard to put the brakes on and say, right, now I'm going to treat my life differently, now I'm going to survive, now I'm going to go forward." — Tracey Emin [02:47]
2. Pain, Imagination, and Artistic Process
- Emin discusses her powerful imagination, which allows her to translate emotion and physical sensation into vividly descriptive art.
- Quote: "If you say to me there are two mice sitting on a seashell, I immediately see the mice sitting on the seashell... It's the same with pain. I can describe it really visually, really easy for you to see. I think that's also got something to do with being an artist..." — Tracey Emin [03:53]
- Emin frames her cancer experience, despite its horror, as a catalyst for artistic creation and self-awareness.
- Quote: "I don't mean it's lucky, but I think it's kind of good that it happened to me." — Tracey Emin [05:09]
3. Body Image, Aging, and Art
- Emin reflects on her changing relationship with her body, body image in youth, and the wisdom gained with age.
- She recounts past self-consciousness about her nude works, recognizing their power in retrospect:
- Quote: "I look at those photos now and I think, my god, what was I worried about? It's incredible, my body." — Tracey Emin [06:07]
- She recounts past self-consciousness about her nude works, recognizing their power in retrospect:
- On aging and body acceptance, Emin shares her late mother’s perspective:
- Quote: "In 10 years time, you're going to say the same thing." — Tracey Emin [06:56]
4. Women in the Art World & Feminism
- The conversation addresses the art world’s slow progress toward gender equality, referencing major milestones for women artists.
- Quote: "Me and Fiona Rae were the first female professors ever at the Royal Academy in 235 years or something. It is still very regressive. Not the Royal Academy, but the world in general." — Tracey Emin [07:34]
- Emin openly identifies as a feminist and tackles misconceptions among younger generations:
- Quote: "You shouldn't have to identify as a feminist, should you? You should just be able to be a woman doing what you have to do... Feminism isn't just about we should get equal pay, it's about we should get equal rights and be supported and be... championed as women and be respect what it's about. And that still isn't happening." — Tracey Emin [08:02]
5. Confessional Art, #MeToo, and Abuse
- Emin discusses the confessional nature of her art—once criticized as narcissistic—now seen as prescient in the wake of #MeToo.
- She speaks on societal revelations like the Epstein files, emphasizing that abuse is a widespread, entrenched issue regardless of class or geography.
- Quote: "It's not about power, it's about the lack of power that these people have and how they indoctrinate and how they use, by undermining, grooming and using young girls for sex. Who does that?" — Tracey Emin [11:13]
- "I will not feel ashamed of what happened to me when I was a child and what happened to me when I was a teenager. I won't. I will make art about it. I will talk about it." — Tracey Emin [11:13]
6. Art’s Accessibility and Emotional Impact
- Emin passionately advocates for art’s universal appeal, comparing galleries to sacred spaces that can move anyone, regardless of background.
- Quote: "When you go into the art museum or the art gallery, you will feel very different when you come out. Something will just catch you. Something will just make you feel different... Art is one of the purely, purely amazing, good things that humankind makes... If you can just pick up on a tiny bit of that, it makes you feel really good inside." — Tracey Emin [14:58]
- Emin admits to being surprised and delighted when changed by art herself, even when skeptical at first:
- Quote: "All my mind opens up. It's almost like birds are singing... and I feel better for that. So I'm never cynical about art. I'm always responsive. I'm more than happy to change my mind about something, and it's like being released." — Tracey Emin [16:41]
7. The Significance of "My Bed"
- Emma Barnett asks about installing Emin’s iconic 1998 work for the Tate exhibition; Emin describes the logistical difficulties and long-term emotional weight of returning to it post-cancer, in metaphorical "hazmat suits."
- Quote: "The bed can only be shown about every five years and only for a certain amount of time... And it was really sad... Does this matter? Who is this person? Am I that person? Is any part of me left still remaining in that bed? My spirit, my soul?... It was really sad. I feel like crying now. It was really strange." — Tracey Emin [18:09–19:05]
8. Poverty, Upbringing, and the Lifeline of Art
- Emin touches on the lasting impact of childhood poverty and a lack of educational support.
- "Being a child and being poor and living in poverty affects you for the rest of your life, however you deal with it." — Tracey Emin [21:58]
- She credits art as her saving grace throughout her life.
- "Luckily, again, I am very lucky. I had art. I had art and I had creativity and that just pulled me through." — Tracey Emin [22:50]
9. Embracing Life After Facing Death
- On facing mortality and deciding to live with purpose after cancer:
- Quote: "When I was told I was gonna be dead by Christmas, I thought, oh dear, and I said, death looks after itself. And what I'm gonna do now is just focus on living, which I'd never done before in my life. Ever. Ever." — Tracey Emin [24:03]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Artistic Imagination
"So if you say to me, there's two mice sitting on a seashell, I immediately see… what they're wearing, what they're eating. I see the whole thing... And it's the same with pain." — Tracey Emin [03:53] -
On the Value of Art Spaces
"It's like going into a church… when you go into the art museum or the art gallery, you go in and you feel. You'll feel very different when you come out. Art is one of the purely, purely amazing good things that humankind makes." — Tracey Emin [14:58] -
On "My Bed" and Memory
"Is any part of me left still remaining in that bed? My spirit, my soul? Where is the energy from the person who created that…? It was really sad. I feel like crying now." — Tracey Emin [19:05]
Important Timestamps
- [02:47] — Discussion on surviving cancer ("second life"), addiction, and finding self-respect.
- [03:53] — Emin's imagination, vivid experience of pain, and using suffering in art.
- [07:34] — Women’s representation in art institutions; becoming the first female professor at the Royal Academy.
- [08:02] — On feminism and the enduring need for equal rights.
- [11:13] — Addressing the reach of sexual abuse and art as a vehicle for confronting shame.
- [14:58] — Art’s accessibility, emotional impact, and advice to hesitant gallery-goers.
- [18:09–19:05] — Detailed, moving account of reinstalling "My Bed" and what it stirs personally.
- [21:58-22:50] — Effects of poverty on childhood and the life-saving role of art.
- [24:03] — New outlook on life after a terminal diagnosis.
Tone & Style
Tracey Emin’s language is frank, vivid, and deeply personal, moving fluidly between humor, candor, and emotion. Emma Barnett creates space for both difficult truths and moments of levity, resulting in a tone that is empathetic, direct, and rich with insight.
Summary
This episode offers an intimate portrait of Tracey Emin: an artist shaped by pain, survival, and fierce honesty, who continues to break ground for both art and women. Emin doesn’t just recount the facts of her life—she invites listeners to see, feel, and question along with her, underscoring the power of creativity as a force for resilience, connection, and change.