English artist Tracey Emin poses after officially unveiling her 20-metre-long neon text installation entitled, I Want My Time With You, at St Pancras International train station in London, Tuesday April 10, 2018. Contemporary and sometimes controversial artist, Emin has become best known for her autobiographical and confessional artworks. (John Stillwell/PA via AP)
Republished April 10, 2018 - 8:48 AM
Original Publication Date April 10, 2018 - 6:16 AM
LONDON - Artist Tracey Emin is addressing Brexit with her latest public artwork, suspended from the ceiling of London's St. Pancras Station.
The 20-meter (65-foot) neon-pink message reading "I want my time with you" was unveiled Tuesday at the station, terminus for Eurostar trains between London and continental Europe.
Emin said it was inspired by the romance of being met at the end of a train journey, but is also "a great subliminal message" about Britain's upcoming exit from the European Union.
"I am utterly ashamed of the fact our tiny island is leaving Europe, so I want my time with Europe," she said. "I want to be part of Europe and a lot of people in Britain do."
One of the "Young British Artists" who burst onto the art scene in the 1990s, the 54-year-old Emin is renowned for her provocative and confessional art. Her most famous works include a recreation of her disheveled bed and an appliqued tent entitled "Everyone I Have Ever Slept With."
She also has created a series of works involving brightly lit messages — most of them heartfelt, some of them rude.
Emin said her latest piece, which will hang at the station until the end of the year, would provide "this great, beautiful pink glow at night as the trains come in."
"It is just going to make people feel really sexy, really warm, and it is going to make London look really raunchy, and really happening," she said. "So that is another good thing when people arrive in from Europe. They are going to realize that some of us are warm and loving and have a great sense of humour as well."
News from © The Associated Press, 2018