AT TATE MODERN in London until 31 August 2026, there is a superb exhibition of works by the artist Tracey Emin. Daughter of a Romany mother and Turkish Cypriot father, she was born in Croydon in 1963, and brought up in Margate (Kent). Her education in art was at Medway College of Design, where she studied fashion, then at Maidstone Art College, where she graduated in printmaking. Later, she studied at London’s Royal College of Art, and was awarded a MA in painting.

The exhibition at the Tate includes a huge variety of Emin’s artworks: paintings, sculptures, installations (including the unmade bed for which she has become well-known), prints, photographs, videos, and more. There is a room containing a replica of her studio. The exhibits are beautifully arranged, and help to immerse the viewer in depictions of the world and her experiences of living in it. The artist has had a very traumatic life resulting from sexual encounters (including rape as a child), and their often-undesired consequences. Through her artworks she shares the troubles she has experienced with the outside world. Visitors to the exhibition, who might be prudish, might well be shocked by some of what they see in it. However, one should stifle one’s qualms and prejudices, if you have any, and savour the artist’s skills.

Whatever one might think about the subject matter in her art, there is no doubt that Tracey Emin is a talented, highly creative and imaginative artist. The evidence of this is plain to see in the current show at Tate Modern.