Tracey Emin's Neon London
Tracey Emin's iconic neon artworks are lighting up London's buildings and billboards ahead of a major Tate Modern exhibition. The confessional, luminous installations bring personal narrative and raw emotion to the urban landscape, reinforcing London's position at the intersection of classic and contemporary creativity.
- The Tate Modern exhibition, titled "A Second Life," is the largest-ever survey of Emin's work, running from February 27 to August 31, 2026. It will feature over 90 pieces from her 40-year career, including paintings, sculptures, videos, and textiles. - The public art campaign consists of 22 neon installations spread across 11 London boroughs, including Lambeth, Croydon, and Tower Hamlets, and will be on display until March 9, 2026. - Emin has been creating neon works, which feature her distinctive handwriting, since the 1990s to convey intimate feelings and personal confessions. Phrases displayed in London include "I Whisper to My Past do I Have Another Choice" and "I can Feel You Everywhere." - This is not the first time Emin's neons have appeared in public spaces; previous installations include "I promise to love you" in New York's Times Square in 2013 and "I want my time with you," which has been at London's St Pancras station since 2018. - The title of the Tate exhibition, "A Second Life," directly references the artist's recent and severe battle with bladder cancer, with new works exploring her surgery, disability, and subsequent relationship with her body. - The exhibition will also feature some of her most famous and controversial works, including the Turner Prize-nominated installation "My Bed" (1998), a piece documenting her recovery from a breakdown. - Maria Balshaw, the director of the Tate, is the lead curator of the exhibition, which was conceived in close collaboration with Emin herself. - Beyond the gallery and the neon billboards, a monumental bronze sculpture by Emin titled "I Followed You Until The End" (2023) will be installed outside the Tate Modern.
