My Heart is This: Tracey Emin on Painting Hardcover – 26 Feb. 2026
by Martin Gayford (Author)
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Tracey Emin talks about painting: what it is, why she does it, why it matters.

Richly illustrated with photographs of the artist and her art, here is a vivid and intimate portrait of her life and work in her own words, in conversation with art critic Martin Gayford. Emin reflects on painting – how she approaches it, why it matters to her, and how it connects to her life – and how everything has changed since her cancer diagnosis.

‘Every image has first entered my mind, travelled through my heart, my blood – arriving at the end of my hand. Everything has come through me.’

Offering a uniquely personal insight into the artist’s extraordinary life and career, Emin expresses herself in her characteristically frank, confessional style that is so familiar to anyone who has seen her paintings. This is Tracey Emin on her own terms: on learning to paint, on living her life after cancer, and relearning why painting matters to her above everything else.