Tracey Emin takes over London

For two weeks, Tracey Emin’s iconic neon works are taking over buildings and billboards across London to celebrate the opening of her largest exhibition to date, A Second Life at Tate Modern. This free, pop-up campaign showcases neon texts the artist has been making since the 1990s, bringing her poetic declarations such as I Whisper to My Past do I Have Another Choice and I can Feel You Everywhere to life across the city. Londoners will encounter these poignant messages in Emin’s distinctive handwriting in 22 locations across 11 boroughs; from Lambeth and Croydon to Walthamstow and Tower Hamlets, until 9 March.

Deeply intertwined with her spirituality and emotional responses, Emin’s neon works with their pulsating energy are both a powerful tool of self-expression and a way to connect with others. Over the past decade, her neon texts have been installed in public spaces internationally, bringing strangers together through phrases such as “I promise to love you” in Times Square in 2013 and “I want my time with you”, at London’s St. Pancras station since 2018.

This latest project gives Londoners a glimpse into Emin’s raw and intimate approach ahead of her landmark Tate Modern exhibition, opening 27 February. Dotted across the capital, the artist’s first-person expressions give audiences a chance to identify with the artist’s inner world and confront their own. The display has been made possible thanks to a collaboration with creative street advertising agency Jack Arts (part of BUILDHOLLYWOOD).

Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “Tracey Emin is one of the most significant contemporary artists of her generation. Ahead of her much-anticipated new exhibition at Tate Modern it is wonderful that her work will be showcased across the capital. By transforming our city into an art gallery, all Londoners will have the chance to see these striking neon works for free, as we build a better London for everyone.”

Tate Director and lead curator of Tracey Emin: A Second Life, Maria Balshaw, said: “This citywide project beautifully extends Emin’s longstanding use of neon to share messages of raw intimacy. Whether encountered on a morning commute or discovered quietly on a neighbourhood street, Londoners can experience her work in a way that feels personal. These first‑person declarations invite us into Emin’s inner world while encouraging reflections on our own.”

Listings information
Tracey Emin: A Second Life
27 February – 31 August 2026 Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG Open daily 10.00–18.00, and until 21:00 every Friday and Saturday Tickets available at tate.org.uk and +44(0)20 7887 8888 Free for Members. Join at tate.org.uk/members
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