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Birds 2012

Poster
2012 (printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Always at the centre of her own world, Tracey Emin shares her life, beliefs and feelings through her art. Here she takes the Paralympic values of Inspiration and Determination as the starting point and creates what she describes as a ‘love letter’. Two small birds, delicately perched, appear to kiss beneath the words ‘You inspire me with your determination And I love you’. The Agitos (the Paralympic symbol representing movement) floats below them like feathers or leaves falling from the tree. Birds have frequently appeared in Emin’s drawings to symbolise freedom and strength, whilst her use of handwritten text expresses personal thoughts and emotions.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBirds 2012 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour offset lithograph
Brief description
'Birds 2012' poster by Tracey Emin for London 2012 Olympic Games; UK, 2012
Physical description
poster depicting a line drawing in blue ink of two birds touching beaks with text above
Dimensions
  • Height: 76cm
  • Width: 60cm
Marks and inscriptions
You inspire me with/ your determination/ And I Love You
Credit line
Given by LOCOG and Counter Editions
Association
Summary
Always at the centre of her own world, Tracey Emin shares her life, beliefs and feelings through her art. Here she takes the Paralympic values of Inspiration and Determination as the starting point and creates what she describes as a ‘love letter’. Two small birds, delicately perched, appear to kiss beneath the words ‘You inspire me with your determination And I love you’. The Agitos (the Paralympic symbol representing movement) floats below them like feathers or leaves falling from the tree. Birds have frequently appeared in Emin’s drawings to symbolise freedom and strength, whilst her use of handwritten text expresses personal thoughts and emotions.
Bibliographic reference
Timmers, Margaret, A Century of Olympic Posters (V&A: 2008)
Collection
Accession number
E.271-2012

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Record createdNovember 26, 2013
Record URL
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