Every image has first entered my mind, travelled through my heart, my blood – arriving at the end of my hand. Everything has come through me
Tracey Emin
A new book offers an intimate look into the life and thinking of one of Britain’s most influential contemporary artists. My Heart is This brings together Tracey Emin in conversation with art critic Martin Gayford, reflecting on painting, memory and the experiences that continue to shape her work.
Richly illustrated with photographs of Emin and her art, the book unfolds as a candid dialogue in which the artist speaks openly about her practice and the central role painting plays in her life. Emin discusses how she approaches the canvas, what gives a painting emotional force, and why the act of painting remains essential to her creative and personal survival.
True to the confessional voice that runs through her work, Emin reflects with disarming honesty on her life and career — from learning to paint and finding her artistic language to navigating life after cancer and rediscovering the urgency of making images.
The publication coincides with a major exhibition of Emin’s work at Tate Modern (27 February – 31 August 2026), offering readers a rare opportunity to encounter the artist’s thoughts on painting alongside the works themselves.
Heart is This: Tracey Emin on Painting, by Martin Gayford and Tracey Emin, Publication by Thames & Hudson, 26 February 2026, 224pp, 100 illustrations, 22.9 x 15.2cm, £25.00 hardback BUY HERE
Martin Gayford is an art critic, writer and curator. He is the author of Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud, A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney, How Painting Happens (and why it matters), Venice: City of Pictures and Love Lucian: The Letters of Lucian Freud, 1939 –1954, and acclaimed books on Van Gogh, Constable and Michaelangelo. Tracey Emin DBE RA is known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and sewn appliqué.
