Rat Black Sperm
Rat Black Sperm
Signed Print
Tracey Emin
£800-£1,150Value Indicator
$1,650-$2,400 Value Indicator
$1,500-$2,100 Value Indicator
¥8,000-¥11,000 Value Indicator
€950-€1,350 Value Indicator
$8,500-$12,000 Value Indicator
¥150,000-¥220,000 Value Indicator
$1,050-$1,550 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Etching
Edition size: 100
Year: 2009
Size: H 42cm x W 52cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
Track this artwork in realtime
Watch artwork, manage valuations, track your portfolio and return against your collection
Track auction value trend
Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 | Tennants Auctioneers | United Kingdom | |||
| December 2020 | Forum Auctions London | United Kingdom | |||
| April 2019 | Tate Ward Auctions | United Kingdom |
Meaning & Analysis
This uncanny and witty 2009 etching by Tracey Emin forms part of our Nude Drawings collection of her work. In the centre of an expansive white background, Emin’s focal composition is printed on delicate Japanese Tonosawa paper. A wailing nude figure is being attacked by three so-called 'rat black sperm'. To the right of this unsettling yet titillating illustration is a short verse written by Emin, which reads: “No thoes giant rat black sperms in my nightmare looked just like you”.
Diaristic and insightful, the work of Emin has always offered viewers a look into her often weird and wonderful imagination. Emin has proclaimed herself to be a spiritually-guided individual, and this is something captured in Rat Black Sperm.
The text, which is naively misspelt and written backwards at times, tells the story of a nightmare Emin had. The nightmare she represents in this etching pictures a nude woman - likely Emin herself - being attacked by three so-called ‘rat black sperms’. According to her prose, these ‘giant’ sperms ‘looked just like you’. This direct address is clearly directed to Emin’s lover at the time of the works creation, making the work an even deeper glimpse into her life.
Tracey Emin, born in 1963, stands as a fearless provocateur in the contemporary art scene. A trailblazer of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement in the late 1980s, the artist has sparked conversation and controversy for decades. Confronting themes of love, trauma and femininity with great vulnerability, Emin's work is a visceral tapestry of her life and has forged an intimate dialogue between artist and audience. In 1999, this raw approach to storytelling won her a nomination to the Turner Prize and, in 2007, it got her a coveted spot as a Royal Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA).
