Emin's cat posters taken by collectors

Emin: "Very upset" at the loss of her cat

Artist Tracey Emin's attempt to trace her lost cat has ended with her posters appealing for help being torn down by collectors.

The posters were reportedly being valued at £500 each.

The cat, Docket, has featured in some art works by Ms Emin, who lives in Spitalfields, east London.

Emin often uses collage and embroidery

Despite the rapid disappearance of the posters, she was reunited with her cat earlier this week.

The artist is known for her unconventional approach and attracted controversy when her installation, of an unmade bed, was valued at some £150,000.

Docket appeared in a series of signed Polaroid photographs of the artist, sold at a charity raffle at the opening last year of the exhibition Ant Noises 2 at the Saatchi gallery.

But the posters asking for information on the cat's whereabouts were not intended as works of art, her agent at the White Cube gallery said.

'Upset'

A gallery spokeswoman told The Times: "Tracey does deal with memorabilia, but the posters are not works of art, it's simply a notice of her missing cat to alert neighbours.

Automatic Orgasm: Emin's work can be confessional

"It's not a conceptual piece of work and it has nothing to do with her art."

The spokeswoman added: "Tracey was very upset about losing her cat, but Docket has been found."

Tracey Emin was born in London in 1963 and completed an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art.

She uses mixed media, including story telling, drawing, filmmaking, installation, painting, neon, photography, appliquéd blankets and sculpture to create her works.

Ms Emin has had solo exhibitions in Germany, Japan and America.

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