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British Artist Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ For Summer Auction

Controversial British artist, Tracey Emin’s most famous work, “My Bed”, will be auctioned for the first time this summer. The installation is being sold from … Continue reading British Artist Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ For Summer Auction


DControversial British artist, Tracey Emin’s most famous work, “My Bed”, will be auctioned for the first time this summer.

The installation is being sold from the private collection of advertising tycoon, Charles Saatchi and the sale would be handled by Christie’s.

In an interview in her studio, Emin said that she thought it was symbolic that the work would be changing owners soon.

“Well Charles Saatchi contacted me long before other people knew, first of all to see how I felt about it and to tell me what he was thinking of doing. And as far as I was concerned, it was kind of like a good thing, because it’s not like an end of an era but it’s a passing of time,” Emin said.

Emin’s unmade bed caused a sensation when it was displayed at the Tate Modern in 1999 because it contained an array of personal items, including cigarette butts, condoms, a pregnancy-testing kit and underwear.

Since then, the bed has been seen in Japan, New York, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, but due to the variety of components, Emin said the process of dismantling and assembling the installation is complex.

“When I installed it in Frankfurt a couple of years ago, I was kind of mortified and I was in tears. First of all, it was like going through a crime scene. I think what people don’t realize is that everything from the bed, like every single dog end from a cigarette is in its own little bag. The ash is in another bag, you know, the tampons are in another bag, the condoms are in another bag,” she said.

“My Bed”, which raised questions about what constituted as art, is expected to sell for between 800,000 pounds and 1.2 million pounds when it goes on sale in July.

Proceeds from the sale would be used to finance free admission to the Saatchi Gallery in London.