“Some people might think I haven’t gone very far. But I have. I’ve been all the way around the world in all directions and back again, and this is what I’ve chosen.”
I love this quote by the contemporary artist Tracey Emin (see the video below). She is talking about her beloved hometown of Margate and how this rather rundown seaside town, known for its amusement park ‘Dreamland’, suits her spirit.
It reminds me of one of my favourite lines from T.S. Eliot: ‘We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring. Will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time.’
I’ve always admired Emin, once the wild child of the art world, now a very generous and wise spirit who has survived so much in life. From the teenager ridiculed and taunted by local boys as ‘mad Tracey from Margate’ – she is now regenerating that very town with her artist studio project. Quite wonderful!
