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Audio: Emin, on why her
Margate show isn't just about Margate

The controversial artist spoke ahead of the opening of She Lay
Down Deep Beneath the Sea.

She said she wouldn't move back to her home town, but a lot of
her friends wanted to live there.

She added: "It's a place I want to visit, not a place where I
want to come to live.

"But I think... I really wish Southeastern network would
subsidise things in some ways.

"There's all these empty properties that are amazing, and I
think that a lot of people could afford to buy even, and put in
regeneration, but they can't afford the bl***y train fare and
commute - it's impossible.

"There should be something for areas that are as rundown as
Margate and there should be something to subsidise people's travel
to areas like this, because, obviously, it would be a great thing
if younger people moved into the area."

She said there were good schools, it was beautiful, and a great
place to bring up children.

The exhibition itself moves on from her earlier work,
including Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963 to 1995 at the
Royal Academy in London in 1997.

And it marks a crucial turning point for Emin, 48. It
includes scribbly, sexualised female figures and slogans
– “I SAID NO”.

The Turner Contemporary has done exceptionally well since
Tracey’s last notable appearance in Margate, was when she opened
the gallery in 2011.

It contributed £14m to the Kent economy in its first year and is
already the third biggest attraction in the county.

Around half a million visitors walked through its doors in that
time. It had hoped for 156,000.

When the exhibition was announced, she stuck her neck out.

“I want everyone to come to Margate for the summer,” she
said.

“I want people to come off the train, see the show and then go
and have an ice cream on the beach.”

She Lay Down Deep Beneath The Sea is the
pinnacle of her love affair with Margate.

But it precedes another highlight later in the summer.

She will be interviewed by Stephen Fry at a talk at the
Turner Contemporary on Friday, June 22. A wine reception precedes
the discussion from 6pm.

Those who cannot get tickets can see it broadcast live online at
www.thespace.org Tickets £20,
including wine. Call 01843 233000.

She Lay Down Deep Beneath The Sea runs at Margate’s Turner
Contemporary from Saturday, May 26 to Sunday, September 23.
Admission free. Call 01843 233000.