Emin hows her moves in Argentina:
The UK artists jirst solo museum show in the Americas focuses on early video works
By: Anny Shaw
Buenos Aires. Long before reality television was beamed into our living rooms, Tracey Emin was turning the camera on herself in a bid not only to record parts of her life, but also to reinvent herself. Five of Emin’s videos, which she created between 1995 and 2000 and which the artist says are “presented like an introduction to me", are due to go on show this month at the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires-Emin's first solo museum show in the Americas.
Philip Larratt-Smith. the curator of the show. says Emin's videos are the perfect way to introduce the London-based artist to a latin American audience. 'These videos encapsulate best what her work is about,” Larratt-Smith says. “All of 'Tracey's work is a way of talking herself into existence. She suffered very early traumas and her work is about healing herself psychologically.'
Films include Riding For a Fall, 1998, Love is a Strange Thing, 2000 and Emin's first video, Why I Never Became a Dancer, 1995. In the latter film Emin describes how she entered a dancing competition in her hometown of Margate in 1978 only to be met by boys chanting "Slag! Slag!" as she took to the stage. The video ends with Emin dancing to a song by Sylvester, "You Make Me Feel," as she continues her voiceover "Shane, Eddy, Tony, Doug, Richard… this one's for you.”
“In a weird way Why I Never Became a Dancer gives a template for how Tracey is in the world,” Larratt-Smith says. “On the one hand she is very well-known and loved. but she is also notorious. Celebrity is a double-edged sword for Tracey.”
While the Buenos Aires show. which is supported by the British Council. focuses on Emin's earlier work. White Cube is opening a gallery in Sao Paulo on 1 December with an exhibition of Emin's later works entitled "You Don't Believe in Love But I Believe in You" (until 23 February 2013). “The two shows will dovetail to introduce Emin to the region.” larratt-Smith says.