Tracey Emin

Love Is What You Want

Tracey Emin’s latest retrospective exhibition at the Hayward Gallery is alluring and eccentric. Everything displayed over three floors is very personal: Emin’s subject matter is her life. She engages viewers with an intriguing insight to her childhood and sex life, including intimate details of rape and abortion. She is a natural storyteller.

Emin is one of Britain’s most successful and controversial artists, known for her explicit style. But it is the way Emin expresses her thoughts and stories through a variety of mediums that makes her work stand out. Firstly it is the precious insight into an artist’s life you would never expect to encounter in a gallery. Frank, even sweet, are her memories on film, sculpture, installation, drawings, and photographs. Not to forget the upholstered armchair inherited from her grandma that travelled with Emin to America.

Spotlights are on her personal memories of incidents expressed through a variety of mediums and handwritten text. Many viewers, particularly women relate to her because of the personal experiences she has had. The misspelling is part of her body of work. Its continuous flow of communication reflects her thoughts about herself, which are pure, beautiful and often harsh.

Slogans like ‘FUCK SCHOOL WHY GO SOMEWHERE EVERYDAY TO BE TOLD YOU ARE LATE’ are mapped on vivid patchworks displayed on the wall.  The blankets are huge storyboards where she, the narrator, draws viewers in to the adventure land. This is just the beginning. The wooden installation of beach hut is homage to her father. It could have a background of seaside but the exhibition is a vivid wonderland already. Instead, I imagine it on England’s coastline with warm wind whistling by.

The neon room is a step closer to her love life. This is the murky space where viewers feel a closer connection, as the main slogan says – love is what you want. It is honest and catchy and as Emin puts it: ‘it has to be specific’. This room is definitely my favourite; a nightclub vibe.

Her provocative drawing style reflects Egon Schiele’s continuous line, which gives the artwork a fragile character. The subject matter in her drawings revolves around female sexuality, sex and genitals.

I leave the gallery with poignant feelings. The journey the viewer experiences are emotional and rewarding; Emin is optimistic about her disturbing life experiences.

Love may be what she wanted. It was not always what she got. What I got from her work are images I will never lose.


Showing from 18 May – 29 August 2011 @ Hayward Gallery, London

Image credits:

http://www.bobbink.nl/2011/06/12/love-is-what-you-want/

Kevin Langeree
At just 22 Kevin Langeree is considered one of the most talented kitesurfers of his generation. Having been part of the O’Neill team for nearly ten years, he owes his success to raw and relentless determination, not content being the runner up, Langeree propelled himself to world champion in 2009, becoming one of the most established riders in his sport, now having recovered from a serious knee injury he plans to push himself even further. IDOL chats to the fearless Dutchman about resilience, motivation and how he stands out from the crowd.


HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE IN 3 WORDS?
Powerful, smooth, and playful


YOU BECAME PART OF THE O'NEILL TEAM WHEN YOU WERE ONLY 13 YEARS-OLD, HOW HAS YOUR JOURNEY INTO KITE-SURFING BEEN SINCE THEN? WAS IT HARD TO BE THE YOUNGEST IN THE TEAM?
Yeah I’ve been with O’Neill for many years and those years have been great. I hope I’ll be riding for them for many more years.


THE O'NEILLS TEAM DESCRIBES YOU AS THE LIVING PROOF THAT HARD WORK PAYS OFF, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I think they are right. Haha! I’ve been working really hard to reach my goal of becoming world champion. I always set goals for myself and that keeps me really motivated. My goal now is to be back on that water by April and do my first comp in June. I have to spend lots and lots of time in the gym to achieve that.


HOW DO YOU TREAT THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE NOT ONLY AT FIERCE COMPETITIONS, BUT ALSO ON A DAILY BASIS?
I always do little competitions with my self. And I always want to win. And if I can’t win I’ll find a way to win by training hard. I do that in competition but it also helps me on a daily basis.


IT HAS BEEN A COUPLE OF MONTH SINCE YOUR KNEE INJURY, HOW HAS THIS AFFECTED YOUR LIFESTYLE?
My lifestyle totally changed. I went from traveling the world, living out of my bag and riding every day to standing in traffic, staying in one place for more than one week and going to the physio every day. Staying out of the water is the hardest but luckily you get used to everything.


DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO AFFECT YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE WORLD TOUR THIS YEAR?
Yeah it will affect me a lot - but in a positive way. It gave me such a big motivation boost. Now I’m so ready to go out there and train even harder.


WHAT DO YOU FEEL MOST PROUD IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW?
Now I’m the most proud of my self that I can find the motivation to go the gym and the physio every day. It’s a totally different life I don’t really get a rush in the gym and with kiteboarding you have that every session. But I got used to that.


YOU WON THE WORLD CUP THIS YEAR IN MOROCCO. WHAT DO YOU THINK DISTINGUISHED YOU FROM OTHER COMPETITORS?
I was on my game that event! Before the Morocco event we were in Cabarete, I did pretty well there and ended up second place. That gave me lots of confidence again.


WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO ON YOUR TIME OFF?
In my time off I still love to be on the water. When there is no wind and a nice wave I’ll surf off SUP. When it’s flat and there is no wind I’ll still ride my SUP and I love to ride my bike to. I’m not a person that can sit still for very long so I always have to keep myself entertained with sports.


WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU SHARE WITH BEGINNERS?
Take a lesson – that’s really important! It’s short but powerful.


WHO IS YOUR IDOL?
I don’t really have one now but when I was a kid, Robby Naish, Flash Austin and Mac Bo where my idols.


EVERY YEAR YOU MOVE TO CAPE TOWN TO PREPARE FOR PKRA WORLD TOUR CHAMPION, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR REASON YOU CHOSE SOUTH AFRICA?
I just love SA. The wind is always blowing, the waves are great, the food is cheap and yummy, and the people are really friendly. To me SA feels like my second home and it’s a great place to prepare myself for the next season. The conditions are normally pretty hard to ride in but if you know how to do it there you can do it anywhere.


WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO GO IN THE WORLD AND WHY?
There are many places I love to go. I always love to go home after a long trip and ride with my friends. Hawaii, South Africa and home are my favourite places.


WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAVE TO THE WORLD?
Have fun in every thing you are doing and make the most of it!


WHAT DRIVES YOU FURTHER WHEN KITESURFING?
I always try to set goals for myself. And I always want to do tricks that no one else can do. That really drives me.




Interview by Katre Laan

Intro & Edited by: Emma Hurwitz 
Pictures courtesy of Kevin Langeree

Published in IDOL magazine online version:
http://idolmag.co.uk/art-culture-interview/kevin-langeree>