A shark in formaldehyde and an unmade bed are probably the two most famous works of art that took Young British Artists out of the art world and into the mainstream press of the nineties. Much has been trumpeted of this generation and of its champion, the architect of Sensation, Charles Saatchi. A decade later the consistency of Saatchi's vision and the rewards of his encouragement are plain to see on the occasion of the opening of The Saatchi Gallery in the former seat of local government, County Hall, right opposite Westminster in the heart of London. The work is presented in one of the most innovative installations the city has ever seen. Art that was once shown on the fringes of the city, in disused commercial premises, now finds a home at the very centre of metropolitan and international culture. Such elevation tests both the voltage of the original Sensation, and the collector's ability to seek out the very work that survives the tabloid headline. The shark will be scrutinised by more than the tribe of the art-faithful. The gallery will open its doors to the widest public.
The book 100 draws together the key works from the period including Damien Hirst's sliced and encased creatures, the Chapman brothers' models of Hell and sculptures of genetically mutated children, Tracey Emin's notorious bed and tent, as well as the chilling portrait of child-murderer Myra. Putrescence, the decay of the flesh, and bodily fluids are part of the vocabulary. Sexual parts are equated with gaping wounds. The art strips back the surface of the body on view as it does our sensibilities. We see what lies beneath the skin and some of what is revealed is unusually beautiful. There lies our discomfort and our fascination. This is art which Saatchi aptly describes as 'headbuttingly impossible to ignore'.