Tracey Emin: The controversial artist on her ‘most mature’ show to date

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Whether it’s a bed covered with cigarettes and condoms, or a tent emblazoned with the names of everyone she has ever slept with, Tracey Emin’s work has often been personal and confrontational.

But now it seems as though the Turner-nominated Brit has done some growing up. At least that’s how she sees it.

“I think this is the most mature show I’ve done,” says Emin of White Cube and Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong’s I Cried Because I Love You, her first show in Asia.

“When I was younger, I was dealing with my past, maybe in a cathartic psychological way, and now I’m trying to deal with my future and that’s unknown territory.”

While she’s known for her installations and neon art works, I Cried Because I Love You comprises none of the former and few of the latter.

“Some of these paintings I started in 2006 and I’m just showing them now. It’s to do with confidence. I felt really good about the fact that the works, the show, is essentially just painting, drawing, embroidery,” she says. “It’s very pure actually.”

Looking to the future

Tracey Emin, 2016

Tracey Emin, I Cried Because I Love You, 2016, Neon, 32 1/16 x 78 15/16 x 1 7/8 in. (81.5 x 200.5 x 4.8 cm), courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

TRACEY EMIN: I Cried Because I Love You, Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong, March 21 -- May 21, 2016, Courtesy Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, Another love story, 2011 - 2015, acrylic on canvas, 23.82 x 31.5 inches (canvas 60.5 x 80 cm, courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, Body, 2015, Gouache on paper, 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm), courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, I tried to hold your soul, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 60.04 x 72.05 inches (canvas), 152.5 x 183 cm, courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, Hurt heart, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 9 13/16 in. (20.3 x 25 cm), courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, Wanting to be with you, 2015, gouache on paper, 11.02 x 14.96 inches (paper) 28 x 38 cm, courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, I love you, 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 8 1/8 x 10 1/16 in. (20.6 x 25.5 cm), Courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, Cry Beautiful, 2015, Gouache on paper, 12 x 16 in. (30.5 x 40.6 cm), Courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, I want you so much, 2015, embroidered calico, 63.78 x 86.61 inches (fabric) 162 x 220 cm, courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, I can feel you everywhere, 2015, acrylic on paper, 39.96 x 53.94 inches (paper), 101.5 x 137 cm, courtesy of Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

TRACEY EMIN: I Cried Because I Love You, Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong, March 21 -- May 21, 2016, Courtesy Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, 'I Cried Because I Love You', White Cube Hong Kong, 21 March - 21 May 2016

TRACEY EMIN: I Cried Because I Love You, Installation view, Lehmann Maupin, Hong Kong, March 21 -- May 21, 2016, Courtesy Lehmann Maupin and White Cube

Tracey Emin, 'I Cried Because I Love You', White Cube Hong Kong, 21 March - 21 May 2016, © Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2016. Photo © White Cube (Vincent Tsang)

Tracey Emin: The controversial artist on her "most mature" show to date

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As satisfied as she is with her latest output, Emin plans to disappear from the art world later this year. After putting on up to three shows annually for the last nine years, she believes a break is in order if she wants to stay creative.

“I’m not married; I don’t have children; I don’t have relationships. I’m a singular person. And for those reasons, you can be very narcissistic, you can’t see what’s around you,” she says. “I need to take stock and step back and view my life and make some really good decisions, I hope.”

In the video above, Tracey Emin muses on love, finding her confidence as a painter, and why you won’t be hearing from her in 2017.

Tracey Emin: I Cried Because I Love You is spread over White Cube and Lehmann Maupin galleries in Hong Kong until May 16, 2016