31st August 2023 by Frances
Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin ‘The Doors’ 2023, bronze. National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Lane, WC2.
Walking in…
As part of a £41m renovation, a new entrance to this landmark building has been created on the north side, making the building more accessible. Three pairs of monumental doors, soaring 4m in height, create a spectacular new entrance. Walking through in awe and amazement at the vast scale you could easily miss the new commission, because of the subtle integral design. Look again to see 45 beautiful female portraits, incised drawings, in a grid of panels on the doors. This empowering artwork reflects NPG’s need to redress the gender imbalance in this centuries old establishment. Emin, said she wanted to ‘represent every woman, every age and every culture throughout time.’ Emin’s personal stance is reflected in her work and in her role as an artist, she is arguably our everywoman.
The doors were cast in an East London foundry. The images were originally painted in acrylic, then transcribed onto the bronze panels. The exquisite detailed finesse of this process, makes visible even the artist’s fingerprints in the metalwork. Often unkindly described a ‘scribbles’, Emin’s drawings have a fluid, expressive, intense energy that connects on a level that is raw, potent and awesome, rooted in a life force that surges throughout time. Transcribed into bronze they literally and symbolically increase in weight. It is a perfect counter balance to the male stone portraits that loom above in the buildings original architectural roundels. I feel a feminine pride to see this in my lifetime.
‘The Doors’ can be seen at the start of the Moss Green Walk.
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