Tracey Emin: conveying personal experiences across media

One of Britain’s most famous contemporary artists, Tracey Emin is renowned for her autobiographical and deeply personal works spanning a variety of media. She has collaborated with Deutsche Bank in support of charity and her work features in the Deutsche Bank Collection.

One such work is the image below: a still from the film "Sometimes The Dress Is Worth More Money Than The Money", which Emin made in 2000. Like previous works such as "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995" (1995) and "My Bed" (1998), this film was deeply personal. Emin, whose father is a Turkish Cypriot, described the film, in which she plays a bride-to-be wearing a traditional Cypriot wedding dress pinned with money, as "a childhood fantasy.” She recalled: “I saw this wedding dress in the window, and some shoes and flowers, and I had to make a film about it. The shopkeeper must have thought we were having a shotgun wedding.”

Today, more than 20 years later, Emin is considered one of the most important Neo-Expressionist painters of our time. In Margate, the town where she grew up and now lives, she recently opened her own art residency programme to help young British and international artists develop their practice. 

Tracey Emin and Deutsche Bank: celebrating a century of female political empowerment

In 2018, Emin demonstrated her social commitment with a special project she initiated with Deutsche Bank at Frieze London & Frieze Masters. To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the introduction of women's suffrage in Great Britain, she asked all 520 living women artists in the Deutsche Bank Collection to contribute up to four works in postcard format for the exhibition "Another World", which was exhibited in the lounges. Each postcard could be purchased for a minimum donation of £200, with the proceeds used to support vulnerable women.

The twist was that the works were only signed on the back, with buyers discovering who created their particular postcard after having bought it. With so many prominent women artists in the collection, it was possible to buy the original work of a world-renowned artist or the work of a newcomer. The response was overwhelming. "Women just find it easier to help each other," said Emin when asked why so many artists from the collection participated in her campaign. The sale raised £150,000, which was distributed, in collaboration with the London Community Foundation, to four UK charities supporting vulnerable women.

About this article series

This article forms part of a special series celebrating Deutsche Bank’s 20 years as Global Lead Partner of Frieze art fairs, taking a closer look at one of 20 artists we have collaborated with and whose work features in the Deutsche Bank Collection.

Deutsche Bank's commitment to art and culture

Deutsche Bank is the Global Lead Partner for Frieze art fairs, with 2023 marking the 20th year of the partnership. As part of its Art & Culture commitment, Deutsche Bank has supported and collected the work of cutting-edge, international artists for more than 40 years. A global leader in corporate art programs, the bank also runs an Artist of the Year programme, as well as its own cultural centre in Berlin, the PalaisPopulaire. All initiatives are based on the strong belief that engagement with art has a positive impact, not only on clients and staff but also on the communities in which the bank operates. Thus further collaborations such as the Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award in the United States, The Art of Conversation in Italy, the Frieze x Deutsche Bank Emerging Curators Fellowship in the United Kingdom, and the digital platform Art:LIVE, create access to contemporary art for people all around the world. Discover more here.

Please find more information on Deutsche Bank’s art programme at db.com/art and follow us on Instagram @deutschebankart

Caption: Tracey Emin “Sometimes…”, 2001 Photograph | © Tracey Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2023

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