Art For Thought

On the 25th of March, Tracey Emin opened TKE Studios and the T.E.A.R. artist residency in Margate to the public. So with an invite, I took a day trip to the seaside to witness the event and meet the artists holding a space in the studios.

At the opening at 11am, Tracey Emin appeared dressed as the Freewoman of Margate, which she was appointed in the Summer of 2022. She spoke about her journey, her will to help emerging artists and to restore Margate. The studios in fact are built in a renovated ex morgue — but she will not stop here. During her speech, Tracey mentioned how her future projects involve turning a ruined building on the shore into hot showers for swimmers and surfers, saunas, and cafes - ‘instead of having some developers make some new apartments out of it’ she mockingly added.

It is evident that helping the community where she grew up and young artists is at the core of Tracey Emin’s future endeavours. As the speech and celebratory music terminated, visitors were allowed in the building to roam freely and chat to the artists.

The participating artists at the studios are Ghazaleh Avarzamani, Kim Booker, Laura Footes, Jack Hirons, Jon Key, Jarrett Key, Jose Campos (Studio Lenca), Lindsey Mendick, Vanessa Raw and Mercedes Workman.

Amongst the incredibly talented artists met through the day, Kim Booker particularly stood out. Her warm and inviting personality made the studio visit even more pleasant.

Typically painted on larger canvases and charged with bright colours and feminine figures that appear in particular poses, her works are real show-stoppers.

She explained that her works are created intuitively and the painting process is gestural. Especially due to the size of the canvas, Kim would have to move around it stretching herself often to reach all angles of the surface. This makes her paintings almost performative in a way, in any case especially physical and expressive when thinking about this painting process. Despite this, her works remain rather delicate, perhaps due to the feminine subject matter.

I had first encountered Kim’s works in a group show in central London at the end of 2022, after which I have kept up with the artist’s journey in the creation of her works and exhibitions. Her stunning pieces definitely made an impact, and it will be exciting to see what the future has in store for her career.

While down in Margate, it made sense to also check out Turner Contemporary and Carl Freedman. At the latest, Daisy Parris’ solo show ‘Mother Me’ is currently on view until the 16th of April.

Daisy Parris’ (b. 1993, UK) works are colour-dense and text-based. In the majority of their abstract works, the viewer will, in fact, find some type of writing. This may be in the form of a particular word repeated over and over, or an entire sense expressing the emotional intent behind the piece.

Feeling everything, as one of their works ‘I Feel Everything’ highlights, seems to be the concept at the core of the exhibition, which takes the visitor through an introspective narrative translated onto the medium chosen for the particular work, typically canvas.

“[…] Their work is sometimes silent, sometimes savage, with paintings that construct self portraits of personal battles and triumphs in a fast moving yet contemplative assault on the canvas.” (Press release)