Tracey Emin

Blood Thing at 10 (from Family Suite)

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About this artwork

These monoprints were made by inking a piece of glass and drawing onto a sheet of paper which has been laid on top. When the paper is removed, it reveals an identical but reversed image on its underside where the ink from the glass has been transferred to the sheet; this becomes the artwork. The result is almost tactile; the thick fuzzy lines shadowed with marks caused by the artist’s fingers as they rested on the paper. Mistakes could not be corrected giving each rapidly drawn image a sense of immediacy. Emin normally makes monoprints in series, in sessions lasting about three hours. She produces up to forty at a time but rejects at least half. Unlike most other printing processes, monoprints are unique.

Updated May 2023

  • artist:
    Tracey Emin (born 1963) English
  • title:
    Blood Thing at 10 (from Family Suite)
  • date created:
    1994
  • materials:
    Monoprint
  • measurements:
    11.60 x 10.60 cm (framed 38.20 x 36.70 x 3.2 cm)
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased with assistance from Art Fund, the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland and the Gibson Bequest, 2005
  • accession number:
    GMA 4784 Q
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin