Week of Hell ’94 – Monoprint on paper – 422 x 592 mm

(Tate, 1999)

‘Week of Hell’ is a series of mono prints which describe a week of Emin’s life in which she had major dentistry, split from her partner and had a pregnancy terminated. In this piece the sketchy imperfect image expresses Emin’s experience of abortion; an elevated view of the naked reclined female figure can be seen alongside a uterine shaped form.

Tracey Emin is well known for autobiographical subject matter which is confessional, brutally honest and often represents traumatic and abusive experiences in her life. Emin’s work could be described as both autobiographical and feminist prompting conversations directly and openly propelling taboo subjects into the public domain such as abortion which is frequently surrounded by shame and guilt for women. Emin states; ‘I know abortion is different for every woman, but I suffered the most disgusting amount of guilt – when, actually, all I had done is make the right decision.’ (Andrews and Lomas, 2018) Emin explains; for me, aggression, sex and beauty go together. Much of my work has been about memory, for example, but memories of violence and pain…Being an artist isn’t just about making nice things, or people patting you on the back; it’s some kind of communication, a message. (Manchester, 2000)

Process becomes an important part of Emin’s cathartic practice which is presented in many forms including needlework, sculpture, photography, drawing, painting, video and installation. Mono printing, like drawing has a spontaneous and loose technique which is effective in communicating the immediacy and emotion of the subject matter. Describing the importance of the process of drawing Emin reveals ‘My emotions force the drawing out of my hand… I am the custodian, the curator of the images that live in my mind. Every image has first entered my mind, travelled through my heart, my blood – arriving at the end of my hand. Everything has come through me’. (The Guardian, 2009)

Bibliography

Image Ref; Tate (1999). From the Week of Hell ’94. [image] Available at: https://www.tate-images.com/results.asp?image=P11568 [Accessed 22 Nov. 2019].

Andrews, M. and Lomas, J. (2018). A history of women in 100 objects. Gloucestershire: The History Press, p.86.

Manchester, E. (2000). ‘From the Week of Hell ‘94’, Tracey Emin, 1995 | Tate. [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/emin-from-the-week-of-hell-94-p11568 [Accessed 22 Nov. 2019].

The Guardian (2009). Ghosts of my past -Tracey Emin. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/may/25/tracey-emin-drawing-art [Accessed 22 Nov. 2019].