Tracey Emin has revealed the strict logistics behind showing My Bed and how reinstalling it after cancer left her overwhelmed with sadness.
Speaking to Emma Barnett on Ready to Talk, Tracey described how the installation, now nearly 30 years old, is stored, protected and only displayed occasionally because of its fragility.
Asked whether the contents are simply kept as they are, Tracey said the work had been installed again last week and that each presentation takes on a different character.
She compared a previous showing at Turner Contemporary in Margate, alongside J M W Turner’s paintings, as feeling “rumpy, pumpy, it was sexy”, adding that instead of appearing tragic or mournful, “suddenly look, whoa, this is a bed that’s lived.”
She explained that the objects from the bed are preserved in a large storage system containing labelled pockets and boxes, describing it as “like a crime scene”.
When Emma asked if it was the same apple core, Tracey replied, “Yeah. Apple core.” She added that only the Nurofen and headache pills were replaced around 20 years ago due to health and safety concerns.
The work can only be shown around every five years and for limited periods. Tracey said the sheets must not fade and that installers wear hazmat suits when handling it.
Although widely associated with her, she no longer owns the physical components, which are protected and insured by Tate.
Reinstalling the piece after cancer treatment prompted unexpected emotion. Tracey said she kept asking herself why it felt so sad this time, questioning whether any part of the person who created and survived that period still remained in the bed. “It was really, really sad,” she said. “I feel like crying now.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, Tracey spoke about identity and independence. When asked if she liked being a woman, she replied, “I’m good at it,” later reflecting on being child free and rejecting traditional expectations, adding, “Every time I go to a wedding, I always feel like I’m an imposter. So I don’t go to them anymore.”
New episodes of Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett are available on BBC Sounds every Friday.
