Confessional

Rauschenberg’s bed visually displays his life with his own clothes, his own quilt and his own bedclothes, making this work very personal. The quilt is hung on the wall and layers of paint and other artefacts, ie. pillows are added.

In Emin’s work the objects are carefully positioned and therefore link her work to the draperies of the muse. Whereas the muse is present, in Emin’s work she appears absent, however this is not quiet true because she definitely titles the work ‘My Bed’ thus defining the bed as hers. She has a definite presence in the work. Emin works with fabric in the form of sewn onto other material. She collects fabric and found objects making use of curtains, bed sheets and linen and keeping material that holds emotional significance for later use in her work. She revisited the theme of the bed with a mixed media installation, To Meet My Past (2002) another installation with a four poster bed with embroidered text hanging down alongside the mattress.