The 1990s were a decade of new beginnings: Margaret Thatcher resigned as the UK’s Prime Minister; the Channel Tunnel opened and the Northern Ireland peace process culminated in the Good Friday Agreement.

The Young British Artists continued to revitalise and dominate the British art scene throughout the decade. The 1997 exhibition Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection at the Royal Academy sparked controversy and broke attendance records. The show later travelled to Berlin and New York.