‘It caused so much upset’: Why Tracey Emin’s messy bed shocked the art world in the ’90s

In 1999, an artwork of a dishevelled divan strewn with condoms and lager cans sparked a media frenzy and turned artist Tracey Emin into a celebrity. Why? And what happened next?

Back when the world was spinning towards the 21st Century, creative culture was in its own state of revolution. In London, the city itself was shapeshifting, and the Young British Artists (aka YBAs) were an unruly constellation of rising stars (among them, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, and Jake and Dinos Chapman) that embodied a collisional energy: visual art; nightlife; rock ‘n’ roll. Suddenly, the art scene was fuelling global media headlines, and it appeared that the most controversial, scandalous statement of all was… a woman’s bed.

Warning: This article features language that some may find offensive

In 1999, Tracey Emin’s My Bed (1998) was shortlisted for the prestigious Turner Prize and exhibited in Tate Britain’s stately gallery: a dishevelled divan with stained sheets, strewn and surrounded with personal detritus such as contraceptives, slippers, bloodied period pants, empty vodka bottles, Polaroid selfies, an overflowing ashtray. It recreated a post-break-up depressive breakdown, when Emin had stewed in bed for days, before rising to view the chaos.