Mad Tracey from Margate: who is controversial artist Tracey Emin, Sky release date - and how to watch

Sky Arts documentary May Tracey from Margate revisits the life of one of Britain’s most well-known and controversial artists.

Emin has created a distinctive artistic style which feeds on her own life experiences and trauma, and her work sells for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

But who is Tracey Emin, what are her best known works, and when is the documentary on TV? Here is everything you need to know:

Who is Tracey Emin?

Tracey Emin is a 59 year old British artist who is best known for her autobiographical art pieces and exhibitions.

Emin works across different artistic forms including drawing, painting, film, applique, and sculpture.

She was born in Croydon and brought up in Margate, Kent with her twin brother, Paul.

When she was 13 and still living in Margate she was raped, and much of her work has been analysed through the context of childhood sexual trauma.

Her well known installations include Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995, which was a tent appliqued with the names of all the people she had ever slept with.

The artwork was destroyed in a warehouse fire in 2004 and Emin has refused to recreate the piece.

Another art piece My Bed – an installation of Emin’s own unmade dirty bed which she had spent several weeks sleeping in during an emotionally turbulent time - featured used condoms and stained underwear.

My Bed is the most expensive Tracey Emin piece to be sold at auction, going for £2.5 million in 2014 - more than twice its estimate.

Emin is not married, does not have children and is currently single. However, in 2016 she reportedly married a rock. Emin said that the rock was a metaphor for what she would prefer to live with.

She told The Art Newspaper: “It just means that at the moment I am not alone; somewhere on a hill facing the sea, there is a very beautiful ancient stone, and it’s not going anywhere. It will be there, waiting for me."

In 2020 she was diagnosed with squamous-cell bladder cancer and underwent an operation to remove her bladder. She had to have a stoma fitted and is now in remission.

What else is Tracey Emin known for?

Emin has been heavily involved with charity work over her career - she raised more than £1 million for charities including NSPCC Terrence Higgins Trust.

She has donated several of her own original pieces to charity auctions, in some cases even stepping in as the auctioneer.

One of the pieces she donated, a blanket called Star Trek Voyager which she had handsewn, was auctioned at Elton John’s White Tie & Tiara Balland raised £800,000 for The Elton John AIDS Foundation.

What is Mad Tracey from Margate about?

The documentary will chart the influences on Emin’s life and artistic style and explore some of the more controversial works of her career.

Through interviews with her friends, Emin’s personality is revealed more clearly, and more context is offered to understand the thought process behind her art.

Other people from Emin’s life who speak in the documentary include former teachers, fellow artists, and critics.

It also features the artist herself, as she reveals how she became known as a ‘mad’ artist.

When is Mad Tracey from Margate on TV?

The documentary will air on Sky Arts on 26 July at 7pm. You can watch it on Sky channel 11.