Tracey Emin has shared the devastating news of a family loss, revealing that her brother passed away while she was in the hospital being treated for 'sepsis and diverticulitis.' The 63-year-old artist took to Instagram to share that she 'wasn't expecting' her brother's sudden death, calling Alan a 'kind and gentle soul.'
She wrote: 'I have had the strangest time. Deeply sad events, some I can write about, some I can't. My elder brother Alan died last week. I was expecting it but not expecting it. I know he is where he wants to be. I keep trying to tell myself the loss and sadness is mine. He is soaring high in a much better place. I loved my brother Alan very much; he was a kind and gentle soul.'
She continued, 'I also spent the last eight days in the hospital. I keep being unwell. This time it was borderline sepsis and an acute attack of diverticulitis. I've been suffering for weeks on and off, one infection after another. It makes me so weak. Every bit of pain, every heartbreak feels like the heaviest weight trying to crush me. This last couple of weeks I feel like I've been smashed with a sledgehammer. Broken, trampled, cursed... So I am going to get out my giant golden shield and breastplate. I'm going to polish them so bright that the whole world reflects. Any hex that's thrown at me will go straight back. We live now in the cruelest of worlds. Alan was right to take his leave. Rest in peace.'
It is pertinent to mention that Tracey suffered a major health setback after she was diagnosed with bladder cancer 6 years ago. Tracey previously underwent a series of major operations in 2020 after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer during the lockdown.
