During a period of isolation in her London home, Tracey Emin made a series of works that offer insight into the sanctuary of the domestic realm. Focusing on a range of intimate interior spaces, these small paintings are concise studies that, for Emin, represent a ‘transference of emotions and place’.
After twenty years living in the same house, the artist is on the brink of leaving it for a new home. The memories and her sense of belonging, coupled with feelings of anticipation and the prospect of adventure, coalesce in these works. A glimpsed domestic object, such as a chair or bed, takes shape like an elusive recollection, while the bath, a familiar trope in art history, provides the private setting for intimate reflection. An air of stillness and tranquillity pervade the scenes, embodied by the figure reclining contentedly in the quietude.