An unmade bed can tell an onlooker a lot about the bed’s occupant. This unmade bed is not just from some average Josephine, but neither is it some gross obsession with some celeb’s boudoir.

This bed (and it’s slightly gross accompaniments) is in fact a work of art by now renowned modern artist, Tracy Emin. It follows in the trend of exhibiting everyday objects with some deep, philosophical message about the state of society (Marcel Duchamp’s urinal seems to have been the trendsetter here).

The stroke of genius came to Emin at a particularly low point in her life; after a breakup. Like many of us do when we’ve had our heart broken, she was drowning her pain with booze and casual sex and this piece of artwork is a kind of self-portrait of her at the time. It is pretty easy to relate to, in spite of it being slightly repulsive, when it is put into context and in fact, you would be lying if you said your room has never looked like that after a terrible day or devastating heartbreak.

All this is good and well, and sure it is a very interesting and even poignant commentary, but R20 million seems like a bit of an excessive price for a scene that could easily be your average Thursday, no?

Last weekend, Emin’s dealer in New York, David Maupin, who sold the bed to Saatchi, said he thinks the estimate of £800,000 to £1.2 million is too low for such a significant work. “It’s historic,” he said. “It’s priceless.” 

Charles Saatchi may have pushed hard to buy the piece but will he be able to sell it for such a sum, even in a market where art auctions are blooming?

[source: The Telegraph]