Name: See How They Grow
Brand: Tracey Emin
Rating: 5 (234 reviews)

Track auction value trend

The value of Tracey Emin’s See How They Grow (signed) is estimated to be worth between £1,450 and £2,150. This etching print from 2010 is a rare artwork, having been sold once at auction in November 2017. There have been no sales in the last 12 months or the last five years, but the current owner can take advantage of an average annual growth rate of 7%. This work is part of a limited edition of 100.

Auction Date

Auction House

Location

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

November 2017

Sworders

United Kingdom

Meaning & Analysis

This whimsical etching was created by Tracey Emin in 2010, and forms part of the Animals collection. Set against a white paper background, an animated bunny rabbit stands to the right of the composition. In her hands is a watering can, which sprinkles water onto a pair of illustrated penises at the bottom of the work.

Small illustrations of lively bunny rabbits are a subject we would expect from the world of children’s books written by the likes of Beatrix Potter. However, Emin’s See How They Grow transforms the innocent subject into one that is sexually suggestive and crude.

This editioned etching uses the animated rabbit to make a tongue-in-cheek dig at the penises she represents. A recurring theme in Emin’s body of prints, she often depicts the phallus severed from the body and a being with a life of its own. In this particular etching, Emin’s lewd bunny rabbit waters two penises with her watering can, marvelling at their growth. The work is characteristically witty, and Emin urges her viewers to not take sex - or her art - too seriously.