Sometimes I Feel Beautiful

Self-portraiture and autobiography lie at the core of British artist Emin’s project. In works like her Writings, Emin’s confessions take the form of open-ended letters, whereas in works like her Nude Self-Portraits, they are enacted through the tentative and rushed contours of pencil and ink drawings. In Sometimes I Feel Beautiful, Emin’s portraiture takes on new forms and new meanings. The image is an enlarged Polaroid snapshot of Emin where the artist is shown lying naked in her bathtub, with her face reclined towards the viewer. Emin appears with her eyes closed, as if sleeping, while her hands hold her legs in a reassuring and relaxed pose.

Interestingly, this image portrays the artist in a blissful state of meditation and greatly contrasts the satirical, confrontational tones typically projected throughout her work. The tranquillity and serenity of the image is heightened by the title, Sometimes I feel Beautiful, as an optimistic note is conveyed - a rarity in Emin's raw and honest productions. This artwork distinguishes itself from her other works and is testimony to Emin’s ability to shift from her ironic and painfully raw images to a temporary moment of acceptance.