Make that bed!

Tracey Emin – My Bed (1998)

As one of the shortlisted works for the Turner Prize ‘My Bed’ by British artist Tracy Emin was exhibited at the Tate Gallery in 1999.

The artwork generated considerable media furore, particularly over the fact that the bed was surrounded by condoms, soiled knickers and bottles of vodka and the bedsheets were stained with bodily secretions.

The bed was presented in the state that Emin claimed it had been after languishing in it for several days; at the time she was suffering suicidal depression brought on by relationship difficulties.

More media attention came when a South Wales housewife attempted to clean up the artist’s bed. Chris De Ville from Swansea said she felt “outraged” after hearing of the unmade bed on show. Security guards moved quickly to prevent the mother of three from damaging the work. Mrs De Ville, who drove 200 miles to London to make her statement, said she was used to tackling the bedrooms of her children.

“I thought I would clean up this woman’s life a bit,” she told the BBC. “After I heard about it, I drove straight to London with a 500ml bottle of Vanish. “I had a go, but unfortunately I could not get to wash the sheets, just a pre-wash.”

Mrs De Ville said she may have done the artist a favour. “In her video, she was bleating on about a lack of a love life.” “She will never get a boyfriend unless she tidies herself up,” claimed Mrs De Ville.

‘My Bed’ didn’t win the Turner Prize