TRACEY EMIN: THE VANISHING LAKE
White Cube / 6 Fitzroy Square
Till 12 November, 2011
White Cube announces a special site-specific exhibition by Tracey Emin, 'The Vanishing Lake'. The title is taken from her novel, which has been a catalyst for a series of new works created for exhibition in the Georgian house at 6 Fitzroy Square.
Emin relishes the opportunity of showing in historical surroundings, previously exhibiting at the Foundling Museum and Freud's former home in London as well as the British Pavilion in Venice in 2007. Now Emin has chosen an eighteenth century house, designed as part of a terrace by the neoclassical architect, Robert Adam in 1794. Fitzroy Square was home to numerous artists and writers before the war, but subsequently many of the properties became commercial businesses and number 6 became abank.However, in the 1990's the Georgian group restored the building to its original domestic design - and this evolution of purpose corresponds with the ethos of 'The Vanishing Lake'.
The seasonal disappearance and reappearance of the lake by Emin's home in France informs a series of new 'Self Portraits' that reflect and absorb a personal metamorphosis. With titles including: 'Knowing how I am', 'Anatolian Princess' and 'Beautiful Girl', Emin portrays her multifaceted past by drawing from Picasso's intimate portrayals of his long-standing muse and mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter. Pleas of unrequited love and touching melancholia are conveyed in a series of embroidered texts and drawings to be shown alongside the exposed vulnerability of an isolated figure captured in a series of hand-woven tapestries. Scaled up from intimate works on canvas, the tapestries produced by the West Dean tapestry studios continue Emin's interest in the domestic and handcrafted tradition. In addition, tiny hand-modeled bronze figures pray either side of a pregnant bronze figure in 'Prayers for Mother'. As visitors enter or leave the exhibition, a neon text enigmatically recounts: 'I followed you into the waterknowing I would never return'.
Born in 1963, Tracey Emin lives and works in London. After the success of her survey exhibition 'Love Is What You Want' at the Hayward Gallery this summer, Emin is now planning a solo exhibition at Turner Contemporary, Margate in May 2012 and her first major US solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in 2013. In 2008 Emin held her first major retrospective 'Twenty Years' at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which subsequently toured to Malaga (2008) and Bern (2009). In 2007 Emin represented Britain at the 52nd Venice Biennale and was made a Royal Academician.
Venue:
The Georgian Group
6 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 5DX
Open Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 6pm
Contacts:
Mason's Yard Site
25-26 Mason’s Yard (Off Duke Street)
St. James’s London SW1Y 6BU
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 5373 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7749 7480
Open: 10 – 6pm Tuesday – Saturday
Hoxton Square Site
48 Hoxton Square London N1 6PB
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 5373 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7749 7470
Image Credits:
1. Exhibition View
2. Tracey Emin, Tatty: Bath tub with Union Jack
