She Lay Down

British artist, Tracey Emin’s work is masterfully resonant within a feminist discourse on art historical legacies. It is also a powerful encapsulation of the human condition overall. In this grouping, the artist presents her fearless prose through the means of printmaking, allowing her inner world to unfold within two inky limited edition artworks. The works were created to coincide with the retrospective exhibition “Love is What You Want”, held at the Hayward Gallery in 2011.

While a need for recollection underpins these works, their compositions primarily address the remnants of physical intimacy. Rather than painting literal depictions of passion, Emin captures the emotions awakened in her after the act. As such, these are portraits of turbulent flashbacks associated with desire.

With She Lay Down (Deep Beneath The Sea), Emin couples notions of love and longing with a palpable sense of vulnerability. Written in the artist’s signature scrawl, both the title of the work and the solitary female figure glow in inky blue, taking on an otherworldly quality. In line with Laying With The Olive Trees from the same grouping, the landscape portrayed here is an ambivalent mix between a desert and an ocean. Emin features her own naked body at the centre, still as a statue while shadows erode her contours.