For Great Britain, the 1980s was a turbulent period. It was the time of Margaret Thatcher, punk rock, trouble in Northern Ireland, and economic woes. It was also the perfect breeding ground for a new generation of artists, especially for one rambunctious, high-profile group called the Young British Artists.

Most of the YBAs were graduates of the Fine Arts degree program at Goldsmiths, University of London, emerging in a period from 1987 to 1990. This included names like Liam Gillick, Sarah Lucas, Ian Davenport, Henry Bond, Angus Fairhurst, and Abigail Lane. The movement got its start at two major exhibitions: Freeze in 1988 and East Country Yard Show in 1990. With these Goldsmiths art students' help, commercial art galleries in London suddenly became popular again. The YBA movement also earned the attention and patronage of prominent art collector Charles Saatchi, whose advertising agency put the young artists under the media spotlight.

At the time of their early success, these artists had only gone under the name "Britart" or "Brit artists." It wasn't until 1992 that Young British Artists came into vogue, which art critic Simon Ford later abbreviated to "yBa" in 1996. Their biggest exhibition, Sensation, was held at the Royal Academy of Art in 1997, drawing both the media's attention and a storm of controversy for several controversial subjects, including a portrait of the serial killer accomplice Myra Hindley. It was after this period that the YBAs lost their influence, although several artists in the group were allowed to join the Royal Academy of Arts and have continued to create art in their own individual careers.

From a popular point of view, the Young British Artists were devoted to using shock tactics as a form of art. Gallery owner Maureen Paley believed that they brought boldness to the art scene in London and allowed for creativity to flourish once more in British art. They also followed in the footsteps of classic artists like Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso, using trashed objects and converting them into readymades for exhibition.

Two of the best-known works by the YBAs were large installations designed to provoke. Damien Hirst had conceived of something "big enough to eat you" when he produced The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. The installation consists of a tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde and floating in a display tank; it was the first work of art developed for the group's new sponsor Charles Saatchi. Another huge installation was My Bed by Tracey Emin. Her installation is the artist's own unmade bed, surrounded by bodily fluids and used domestic objects. Emin claims that the bed was meant to represent a period of depression in her life brought about by relationship issues.

In both these cases, the art evokes a wild passion that would go against the cultural mores of contemporary British society. While the movement no longer exists, it continues to have a strong influence on contemporary British art, breaking old forms and bringing new ideas to the fore.

Former YBAs like Sarah Lucas and Liam Gillick are still active, with their art on display in museums like the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate Modern in London.

Image by Loz Pycock on Flickr