Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin needs no introduction. After leaving school with no qualifications at thirteen, Emin went on to become one of the leading figures of Britart. Here she discusses her growth through the 80s and her adoration for art.

Decades: Episode 01

tracet emin

More episodes in Decades

ronnie wood interview

Ronnie Wood (Decades: Episode 08)

We spoke to musical legend Ronnie Wood about his adventures in 1960’s Britain; switching bands, swapping records and crashing parties. whynow’s decades series asks established people from the arts to discuss ten years that changed them and their work. Fresh out of art school, Ronnie was flitting between the mods and the rockers, while painting canvasses and jamming with Hendrix.

Marc Quinn Contemporary Artist
Art

Marc Quinn (Decades: Episode 04)

Contemporary artist and visionary Marc Quinn has, quite literally, shed blood for his art. Perhaps his most well-known work, Self, creates a cast of his head with ten pints of his own blood, and is remade every five years. Discussing his entrance into the world of art, permanence and impermanence in his work, and his interest in how ‘art makes itself’, Quinn looks over the years 1981-91 for our ‘Decades’ series. 

Zandra Rhodes (Decades: Episode 10)

Dame Zandra Rhodes burst onto the scene in the late 60s with her eye-catching textiles and flair for fashion. From pleated frocks for rock stars, to royal engagement gowns, the Princess of Punk looks back at the years 1967 - 1977.

Lemn Sissay

Lemn Sissay (Decades: EPISODE 09)

In 1984, 18-year-old Lemn Sissay left the care system. In the ten years that followed, he published his first book of poems, performed at the Hacienda and tracked down his birth mother in Gambia. He looks back at the decade when, he says, he entered the world as an artist.

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