The words went round and round and round in my mind and my body, until I knew they were no longer my words but something that had been carved into my heart. And now my soul was crying.

Tracey Emin

Categorized in : Heart Mind Soul

I've been slagged off completely by the art world and I don't know whether fancy being slagged off by the literary world as well. It's just too much.

art-world world art

What's in yesterday's newspaper is today's fish-and-chip paper. If it really affects my life so badly, so personally, then I would do something about it. When it's really out of order, or something possibly detrimental to my family, or I'm driven to such a level that I know that this can be picked up and repeated again, I will just write or e-mail the newspaper editor. So, in the next day's newspaper, it might say, "Tracey Emin says this is factually incorrect."

driven my-family writing

I had become conscious of my physicality, aware of my presence and open to the ugly truths of the world. At the age of thirteen, I realised that there was a danger in innocence and beauty, and I could not live with both.

ugly age world

There's so much stuff said about me that's not true, so now if something is hurtful and wrong, I send an e-mail or letter immediately, saying, This is not true.

hurtful mail letters

My influences were from Europe from between 1900 and 1945. My favorite artists were Egon Schiele or Edvard Munch. I wasn't interested in contemporary art at all.

influence europe art

I'm not trying to find another thing that's wrong with me, but I'm such a nice person, and I have a couple of drinks and I'm really good fun and then I'm really not fun

nice couple fun

They grew really quickly. One minute I didn't have any tits and the next I had the biggest tits in the world.

next minutes world

Strolling on the plateau of life, desperate for the mountain, I never thought that I would get this far. It's only art that has carried me through, given me faith in my own existence. But now I am approaching a point in my life where I desire more.

mountain desire art

I had to come to terms with my failure as an artist... I had to f... by Tracey Emin

I had to come to terms with my failure as an artist... I had to find a way for myself.

failure artist way

My New Year's Eve is always 2 July, the night before my birthday. That's the night I make my resolutions. And this year scares the life out of me, because no matter how successful, how good things appear, there is always a deep core of failure within me, although I am trying to deal with it. My biggest fear, this coming year, is that I will be waking up alone. It makes me wonder how many bodies will be fished out of the Thames, how many decaying corpses will be found in one-room flats. I'm just being realistic.

new-year successful night

My mum has never wanted me to have children. She thinks I would b... by Tracey Emin

My mum has never wanted me to have children. She thinks I would be destroying my life, even now.

would-be children thinking

There is no comparison between him and me; he developed a whole new way of making art and he's clearly in a league of his own. It would be like making comparisons with Warhol.

league would-be art

Theres different kinds of love, and Id never experienced that kind of totally platonic love. All the love Ive experienced has always been a kind of deal, and now, as I get older, I realise that theres this other love out there.

platonic-love different kind

People don't remember. Revenge is sweet. by Tracey Emin

People don't remember. Revenge is sweet.

revenge sweet people

I'm a terrible cook, but if I could cook, I would see that in art as well, it's how much creative energy you put into something.

energy creative art

The people in Miami are so different from anywhere else I've been in America. They're so down to earth, really friendly, and quite self-effacing, with a good sense of humor. I'm not saying other parts of America don't have a sense of humor, but Miami maybe has to have a really good sense of humor for lots of different reasons, and it works. It works for me.

self america people

I want to spend my life with someone and do nice things and go on adventures, read books and have nice food and celebrate things. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in the bedroom like some people who just go to bed and never get out again.

nice adventure book

I'm totally monogamous when I'm in a relationship, and when I'm not in a relationship, I don't sleep around. So when I'm not with someone, I'm really on my own.

my-own sleep

I've never been married because, first of all, I don't think I've ever seriously been asked by anyone who I wanted to marry. [...] And also I'm monogamous.

married firsts thinking

If I were really, truly in love with someone who was truly in love with me, then I would get married, but that would be the only reason I'd get married.

married would-be reason