Explore More UK Winter 2020-2021

CULTURE
Above: Gallery
view of ‘Tracey
Emin/Edvard
Munch: The
Loneliness of
the Soul’, at the
Royal Academy
of Arts, London
© David Parry
The LONELINESS
of the SOUL
We find out more about the Royal Academy exhibition
showcasing the work of contemporary British artist, Tracey Emin,
alongside pieces by the Norwegian expressionist, Edvard Munch
EDITH DEVANEY
Contemporary Curator at
the Royal Academy of Arts,
Edith has originated and
co-curated many headline
exhibitions. In her capacity as
Head of Summer Exhibition
at the Royal Academy of Arts,
she has worked with many
international contemporary
artists on special projects.
KARI J. BRANDTZÆG
Curator at MUNCH, the
museum dedicated to Edvard
Munch’s work, Kari has also
worked as an art historian and
curator at several international
art institutions. As an art
critic she contributed articles
to publications at home and
abroad, and was a doctoral
fellow at the Freie Universität
Berlin, the Norwegian Institute
in St.Petersburg and the
University of Oslo.
We go behind the
scenes with cocurators
Kari
Brandtzæg, of the
MUNCH in Oslo, Norway, and
Edith Devaney, from the Royal
Academy of Arts, to find out more
about the new exhibition.
How did the idea for the
exhibition come about?
Kari: When I started working
at the MUNCH five years ago I
knew my dream project would
be a Tracey Emin exhibition. In
1997, I had been completely blown
away by Emin’s solo exhibition
‘I Need Art Like I Need God’ and
had spent many hours just looking
and reading her texts on blankets,
furniture and neons. In a strange
way there was something very
familiar about Tracey’s art, with the
references to a Nordic melancholy,
trolls, expressionism and Edvard
Munch. They both create art from
memories – from past experiences,
and from loss, desire and loneliness.
How are the works displayed?
Edith: The exhibition is arranged
across three galleries and it
comprises, roughly, one third
Munch works, both paintings and
watercolours, and two thirds Emin
works, which are mainly paintings,
along with two neon works and
five sculptures. Rather than works
by Munch and Emin being paired,
there is more of an organic fluidity
between the two artists’ works,
with the relationship between their
works building as the show unfolds.
How did Emin go about
choosing the pieces to display
alongside her own work?
Kari: At the time of his death in
January 1944, Munch had already
bequeathed all the art in his
possession to the City of Oslo. This
was the foundation of the Munch
Museet which opened in 1963.
For Tracey, this exhibition was an
opportunity to satisfy a long-held
wish to peruse Munch’s paintings,
works on paper and private objects.
Do you think Munch would be
experimenting with new media
if he was alive today?
Kari: Yes, I think Munch
would have experimented. He
bought his first Kodak camera
in 1902, and loved to play with
photography and film. He didn’t
believe in photography as an
artistic expression but he loved to
photograph himself and today he is
seen as the inventer of the selfie!
How does the show explore
themes of grief, loss and longing?
Edith: There can be no doubt that
the artists, Emin and Munch,
were either describing or reliving
a personal experience of grief or
loss; or had a complete empathy
of understanding of being in the
grip of such overwhelming feelings.
The psychological states which
they describe are authentic and
as a result, deeply engaging.
Emin once said of Munch “I’ve
been in love with this man
since I was eighteen”. What do
you think drew her to him?
Kari: Tracey became aware of
Munch when looking for a book
about Egon Schiele. It was the
emotional expressiveness of
Munch’s art that struck her. I
believe that gave her the courage
to express difficult feelings often
related to painful incidents from
her youth in Margate.
Munch’s work often
highlighted his complex
relationship with women, how
did this inspire Emin’s work?
Edith: On discovering Munch at
an early age, Emin became a very
keen student of his work and with
the passage of time she has built a
very comprehensive knowledge of
his oeuvre, his life and his impulses.
She has traced his depiction of
women throughout his career and
is aware that many of his portrayals
of women are linked to his own
experiences and chart his emotional
responses. Losing his mother to
illness when he was still a young
child, then a few years later, a
sister to whom he was particularly
close, all find expression in his
work, as do his series of doomed
romantic relationships with
women. Interestingly, Emin notes
that Munch’s depictions of women
are respectful, and although they
are, at times, illustrating anguished
emotions, they do so in a way that
carefully navigates both judgment
and voyeurism. As a female artist,
Emin’s approach is different and
her presence implicit in the subject
of her works. But, like Munch she
does not shy away from a deep
interrogation of the female inner life.
Are these two artists are linked
by a sense of fearlessness?
Edith: There is much in common
between Emin and Munch and one
of the most important similarities
is their fearlessness or bravery. To
display one’s own emotions, to
describe the pain suffered as a result
of an experience, is an unbelievably
difficult and courageous thing to
do. Both are true to themselves
and have disregarded most passing
artistic trends and norms of their
time to present what is important
to them. Emin both gives and
reveals so much of herself in her
work. To lay oneself bare like that
takes a great deal of courage and
is something which Munch would
have applauded.
How do you think Munch
would have perceived this show?
Kari: I think Munch would have
been proud to know that he is still
relevant and inspires artists all over
the world, especially female artists
like Tracey Emin. It’s about our
modern soul, how we are alone
from cradle to grave, and about our
desires and sorrows along the way.
The show runs from 7th December
2020 until 28th February 2021, at the
Royal Academy of Arts, London, and is
organised in partnership with MUNCH,
Oslo. www.royalacademy.org.uk
Above: Tracey
Emin, I whisper
to my past do
I have another
choice, 2013, on
display at the
Royal Academy
of Arts, London.
© Tracey Emin.
All rights reserved,
DACS 2020. Photo:
© David Parry.
Left: Tracey Emin
in front of This is
life without you –
You made me Feel
Like This, 2018,
on display at the
Royal Academy
of Arts, London.
Loan courtesy of
Collection Majudia
© Tracey Emin.
All rights reserved,
DACS 2020. Photo:
© David Parry.
50 VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK | WINTER 2020/21
WINTER 20/21 | VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK 51