Tracey Rose, born in South Africa, is best-known for her revolutionary performative practice which often translates to and is accompanied by photography, video, installation, and digital prints. Often described as absurd, anarchic, slapdash and carnivalesque, Rose’s work explores themes around post-coloniality, gender and sexuality, race and repatriation.
Tracey was born in Durban, South Africa. In 1990 she joined the Johannesburg Art Foundation before obtaining a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 1996. In 2004 Tracey attended The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance and later obtained her Master of Fine Arts, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK in 2007. Tracey currently lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Tracey has taken part in several residencies including the WysingArts Centre, Cambridgeshire, UK (2014);  DAAD, Berlin, Germany (2012/13); Darb1718, Cairo, Egypt (2012); Cruzes, Montevideo, Uruguay (2011); KhojInternational Artists Workshop Vasind, India (2005); Africa 2005 Residency, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, (2004); Hollywood Hills Horrorhouse, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2001); Fresh, South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2001) and OK Centrum, Linz, Austria (2000).
Tracey has exhibited widely internationally, most notably, May You Live in Interesting Times South African National Pavilion, the 58th La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2016); Body Talk -Feminism, Sexuality & Body, 49 Nord 6 Est -Frac Lorraine, Metz, France (2016); False Flag, Art Parcours, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2016);Â Toro Salvaje, Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2016); Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid, Spain (2014); Waiting for God, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa and Bildmuseet, Sweden (2011); Rose O’Grady (with Lorraine O’Grady),Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa (2011); Lubumbashi Biennial, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo (2017); Performa 17, New York, USA (2017); Documenta14, Athens, Greece and Kassel, Germany (2017); 11th Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, France (2011); Afro Modern: Journeys through the Black Atlantic, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, UK (2010); StedelijkMuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands (2008);Â Africa Remix, The Haywood Gallery, London, UK and Centre George Pompidou, Paris, France(2005); and Africaine, The Studio Museum, New York, USA (2002) to name a few.