Strangeland
Back of the Book
A combination of deeply intimate memoirs and confessions that are powerfully engaging "Here I am, a fucked, crazy, anorexic-alcoholic-childless, beautiful woman. I never dreamt it would be like this." Tracey Emin's Strangeland is her own space, lying between the Margate of her childhood, the Turkey of her forefathers, and her own, private-public life in present-day London. Her writings, a combination of memoirs and confessions, are deeply intimate, yet powerfully engaging. Tracey retains a profoundly romantic world view, paired with an uncompromising honesty. Her capacity both to create controversies and to strike chords is unequaled. It is a remarkable book—and an original, beautiful mind.
Why You Should Read It
Tracey Emin narrates her life to create a new chronology of personhood that embodies who she has become as an artist at the time she is writing. Emin’s artistic sensibilities are almost prophetic in her recounting of her difficult childhood, the primal scene of the development of Tracey Emin as we know now. The memoir confronts Emin’s trauma with the sort of self-assured ‘knowing’ that is apparent in the artist’s work—a thesis that the readers might think is being built, a ‘here’s why’ or ‘despite this’—but one does realize, with relief, that a certainty of cadence is just particular to how Tracey Emin articulates herself in the world, through all of her actions this certainty echoes. Emin’s approach is one that, whilst seeming linguistically confrontational, leaves us in the end in the soft and rarified light of a life lived well and almost fully realised.
Memorable Passage
Have you ever longed for someone so much, so deeply that you thought you would die? That your heart would just stop beating? I am longing now, but for whom I don't know. My whole body craves to be held. I am desperate to love and be loved. I want my mind to float into another's. I want to be set free from despair by the love I feel for another. I want to be physically part of someone else. I want to be joined. I want to be open and free to explore every part of them, as though I were exploring myself.
About the Author
Tracey Emin is a British contemporary artist and author whose deeply personal and provocative works have made a profound impact on the art world. Born in 1963, Emin rose to prominence as a leading figure in the Young British Artists (YBA) movement during the 1990s. Her iconic installation "My Bed" and the neon artwork "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995" are emblematic of her bold and confessional approach to art. Emin's work often explores themes of identity, sexuality, and vulnerability, blurring the boundaries between art and life. In addition to her visual art, she is a skilled writer, authoring a memoir titled Strangeland and contributing to the broader discourse on contemporary art and culture. Emin's unapologetic honesty, combined with her artistic prowess, makes her worth knowing for her significant contributions to both the visual and literary arts, challenging conventions and sparking essential conversations about the intersection of identity, emotion, and creative expression.
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Dana Boulos