After a week of parties and pouring rain, Tracey Emin’s Venice Biennale whirlwind is over. As the artist chosen to represent Britain this year at the world’s most important contemporary art fair, she has spent the past few days racing from exhibition to party to press call, with barely time to breathe. Venice has been swirling with Elton John, Jerry Hall, Naomi Campbell, Robert De Niro and the Scissor Sisters. Emin has been praised for the bravery of her work, photographed at every turn by the international press and lunched to within an inch of her life by gallerists and dealers.

It wasn’t always like this. The girl from Margate who exhibited a soiled, unmade bed for the Turner Prize and embroidered a tent with the names of everyone she had ever slept with – and was described by one newspaper as “the wild woman of art” for her famously drunken antics – has come a long way. She drinks only white wine and champagne now – the ever-present cans of Stella are a thing of the past. Almost by accident, she’s become a part of the establishment. Of Venice, she says, “I think I’ve conducted myself with a reasonable amount of decorum.”

The overall theme of the Biennale, “Think with the Senses; Feel with the Mind; Art in the Present Tense”, could have been thought up for Emin alone, with her intimate form of emotional realism expressed in embroidery, smudgy monoprints, oil paintings and watercolours.

It’s been a wild blur of days and nights. “People kept asking if I was pregnant because I wasn’t drinking, but no,” says Emin. “I feel I’ve just given birth and I want to get my figure back.”

Tracey Emin's Venice diary

My party

The British in Venice are famous for their parties and I didn’t want to let the side down. It was quite overwhelming: not many people get the chance to have a party in a 16th-century palazzo to celebrate the most rewarding moment of their career.

I knew the palazzo because Gilbert & George had their party there in 2005. Fatboy Slim came out to DJ and he offered his services free. When people realised it was him, the whole atmosphere changed; it was amazing. My Venice theme tunes are his remixes of the Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction and Marc Bolan’s Hot Love.

I gave my speeches early at the dinner so that I could really let my hair down after. But I stayed sober all night because of the dancing; with all that sweating there was no chance of getting drunk. I was drenched but it wasn’t just sweat, it was all the anxiety coming out. I’ve never done exams, but Venice has been how I imagine it is to have to sit O levels all of a sudden. The party was a release from all that pressure.

The party went on until 2am, which is very late for Venice; we had to keep the music soft but nobody noticed. After the party we came back to the hotel and partied til 7am.

On the terrace of the Westin Excelsior

It was press day and my photo call was at 12.00. There were hundreds of people waiting outside in the rain to get in and they all gave me a standing ovation when I came out.

It made me want to cry. I've been doing a lot of crying in Venice. It's been so emotional and I never want to forget it. I told all the journalists how difficult it has been for me preparing for the Biennale.

I felt I had a block and was horrible to my friends but actually it turned out not to be a block but me pacing myself; deep down my brain was working.

The standing ovation was the biggest moment of all for me because it was about my work and that's what counts above all. International people are loving my pavilion, apparently, and there's a three-hour queue today, right down to the bottom of the Giardini.

No one knows who I am in Paris, I’m anonymous till I get on the Eurostar. But all that will change now, I've had so much attention from the international press here. Also, a lot of people in Britain haven't known what the Venice Biennale is and now they do. Being the kind of artist I am, really visible in the media, is good for Venice, good for Britain and great for me.

The whole thing has cost me, personally, about £70,000 and that has nothing to do with the big parties, which are paid for by my galleries. This must how your wedding feels: everything going too fast and you want to savour every moment.

Tracey’s survival guide to Venice

Five things I couldn’t have lived without

1 The swimming pool at the Westin Excelsior – “I chose this hotel for the pool because it’s so beautiful.”

2 Marco the boatman – “Having my own boat has been expensive beyond comprehension but there is so much waiting around for taxis, it would have been impossible without Marco.”

3 Caviar – “You get too nervous to eat but caviar is full of vitamins and minerals and you can’t eat too much or you’d be sick.”

4 Jay Jopling (White Cube) and Andrea Rose (British Commissioner) – “I wouldn’t be here without their constant support, and in a 14-year career the most wonderful curatorial experience has been with Andrea Rose. She’s an incredibly wise woman.”

5 My La Perla swimsuit – “I bought it when British Airways lost all my clothes.”

My bed at the Westin Excelsior

There’s nothing worse than being away from home and sleeping uncomfortably, so the quality of the pillows and sheets is very important to me. I’ve got a really nice house and I want my hotel to be even nicer. I wanted it to feel like a holiday as well as work. Luxury is really important to surviving this Biennale and I did a thorough recce of hotels in Venice. It was essential that I stayed on the Lido because it’s so relaxing. People love the hustle and bustle of Venice but it would be a killer if you’re working in the middle of it and can never escape.

I went home to see Docket [my cat] last weekend and to have dinner with Mikhail Gorbachev. I gave the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation a neon last year. Orlando Bloom bought it. Anyway, lots of my friends are staying here with me and they love it. It’s really quiet and there’s no looking each other up and down like at some of the other hotels. Also, you’re on the beach; so much part of Venice.

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