Under the artistic directorship of the American curator, Robert Storr, the overall theme of the 2007 Biennale was: ‘Think with the senses; Feel with the Mind; Art in the Present Tense.’ 

Tracey Emin’s exhibition for the British Pavilion was entitled Borrowed Light and included work specially made for the Biennale. Emin is the second solo British female artist to exhibit at the British Pavilion, following Rachel Whiteread in 1997.

Commenting on the exhibition, Emin said: ‘The chance to exhibit at the Venice Biennale is a great honour and has helped me to redefine what my work really means to me. Borrowed Light is my most feminine body of work so far, very sensual but at the same time it is graphically sharp. It is both pretty and hardcore. For me, as an artist, what's important is to cover everything from the emotional to the literal, and sometimes that means I give myself a very hard time.’

Using a variety of media including embroidery, drawing, painting and neon, Emin’s uniquely intimate form of emotional realism shone through in this exhibition. From smudgy monoprints to lightly painted oils and watercolours, Emin interprets moments in her life with an astonishing urgency, much of it describing how it feels to be a body taken over by feeling; exhilarating, frightening, embarrassing, confusing, disabling and empowering.


The Commissioner for the British Pavilion, Andrea Rose, said:

`The exhibition has a delicacy and lightness of touch that belie Emin’s ability to reach just below the level of tastefulness.  Like all the best art, it looks spontaneous, yet Emin is past mistress at drawing on forms and expressions normally thought beyond the pale - the cute, the sentimental – so that she can prick pretension and close the gap more narrowly between her feelings and ours.’

Further images and details about the exhibition can be found on our Venice Biennale website HERE.

Collection Artist(s)

Glossary

  • Curator

    A person who creates exhibitions or who is employed to look after and research museum objects.

  • Drawing

    The depiction of shapes and forms on a flat surface chiefly by means of lines although colour and shading may also be included. Materials most commonly used are pencil, ink, crayon, charcoal, chalk and pastel, although other materials, including paint, can be used in combination.

  • Painting

    Work of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is a tightly stretched piece of canvas, paper or a wooden panel. Painting involves a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's intellectual concerns effecting the content of a work.