British artist Tracey Emin says she was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and is in remission after an operation.
In an interview published Wednesday, Emin told the website Artnet that a malignant tumor was discovered on her bladder in the spring.
She said she had surgery in the summer in which many of her reproductive organs were removed and she was fitted with a stoma bag.
The 57-year-old artist said that at the time the tumor was discovered, she was working on a painting of a malignant lump.
“It’s exactly the same as my bladder with the tumor in it, before I knew I had the cancer - it’s brilliant!” she told Artnet.
A member of the “Young British Artists” movement that shook up the art world in the 1990s, Emin is renowned for self-revealing works including “My Bed” — a mess of disheveled sheets, empty vodka bottles, cigarette butts and discarded condoms — and “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With.”
Emin, who has a show of new work opening in Brussels this week, said she has been unable to paint since her operation but has worked on a series of photographs of her own body. She said she feels she still has lots of work left to do.