Tracey Emin: I am in a better place now than I ever have been
The artist said sharing her experience of being diagnosed with cancer has helped others.
Artist Tracey Emin has said she is in a “better place” now than she ever has been.
She told BBC Two’s Inside Culture she thinks that being open about her cancer diagnosis last year has “helped so many people”.
“The scarring of my life has made me the person that I am, and I think now I’m in a better place than I ever have been in my life,” she said.
“There are many, many, many women who have felt like me and who have gone through what I’ve gone through but they have not had a voice.
“I was given a voice, a very loud voice, a very clear voice.
“It might not be the accent and the dialect that everybody wants to hear all the time but I’m not going to stop talking and I’m not going to stop making work about the things that really matter to me.”
Emin also reflected on the public reaction to her previous comments about her experiences of being raped and having an abortion.
“I wasn’t complaining about it, I was just saying these things happen in life and we should take note,” she said.
“We should definitely have ways of helping women that are easier and more open.”
Emin, known for headline-grabbing works such as the tent Everyone I Have Ever Slept With and My Bed, was also asked about her future plans.
“I don’t want any pressure from the outside world, I just want time now,” she said.
She added that what she wants “more than anything is time”.
Inside Culture airs on BBC Two on Friday at 7.30pm.
