For You
Artist
Tracey Emin
(London, England, born 1963)
Date2008
MediumHand blown glass, pink and blue neon
ClassificationsInstallations
Dimensions186 x 174cm
Crate Size: 134 × 218 × 54cm
Crate Size: 134 × 218 × 54cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 2009 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions, The Art Fund, the National Collecting Scheme for Scotland operated by the Scottish Arts Council and the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums.
Copyright© Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2021
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG017076
About MeTracey Emin is one of Britain's most acclaimed and successful contemporary artists. Emin studied at the Royal College of Art in London from 1987 to 1989 and during the 1990s became part of the group known as the YBAs (Young British Artists). In 1999 she was short-listed for the Turner Prize and is perhaps best known the installation piece that she showed: My Bed which was a representation of the artist's unmade bed, complete with empty Vodka bottles, cigarette packets and condoms. Always a controversial and high profile personality, she affirmed her position as a highly regarded and established artist by accepting election to the Royal Academy in March 2007. Emin is a storyteller whose subject matter comes from her own life. Her artwork often focuses on confessional texts which she combines with deeply personal objects and mementos. Emin regards her big neon pieces as "love poems" as she explains:
"Poetry can be one line, a sentence. When you read the words, you imagine what you're seeing, you're given a sense of vision by the words".
For You can be seen as love mutterings, a prayer or an exploration of a moment's emotion frozen in time. The words are scrawled in three separated lines; their arrangement and the kiss at the end of the message create a strange mixture of anonymity and immediacy that is reminiscent of graffiti, text messages or Post-it Notes. This particular text could have different meanings: universal and layered, the 'you' which Emin refers to in the text becomes open, a God, a lover, a protector, a friend, a stranger, everyone or no-one. The colour of the neon heart is pink, traditionally associated with love, which is in contrast with the cool blueness of the words inside.
More About Me
Emin is a storyteller whose artwork often focus on confessional texts which she combines with deeply personal objects and mementos. She regards her big neon pieces as 'love poems'.
Exhibitions
