Sensation (exhibition)

Sensation was an exhibition of the collection of contemporary art owned by Charles Saatchi, including many works by Young British Artists, (YBAs), which first took place 18 September – 28 December 1997 at the Royal Academy of Art in London and later toured to Berlin and New York. A proposed showing at the National Gallery of Australia was cancelled when the gallery's director decided the exhibition was "too close to the market."

The show generated controversy in London and New York due to the inclusion of images of Myra Hindley and the Virgin Mary. It was criticised by New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and others for attempting to boost the value of the work by showing it in institutions and public museums.

The artworks in Sensation were from the collection of Charles Saatchi, a leading collector, advertising mogul and publiciser of contemporary art. Norman Rosenthal, the Royal Academy of Arts exhibitions secretary, helped to stage the 110 works by 42 different artists. Many of the pieces had already become famous, or notorious, with the British public (for example, Damien Hirst's shark suspended in formaldehyde titled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, Tracey Emin's tent titled Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995), Marc Quinn's self-portrait (a frozen head made from pints of his own blood) and Sarah Lucas's explicitly sexual images and sculptures. Others had already achieved prominence in other ways, such as a successful advertising campaign using an idea from Gillian Wearing's photographs. Sensation was the first time that a wide audience had had the chance to see these works en masse. The Royal Academy posted this disclaimer to visitors on entry:

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