Both Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin are renowned British artists that emerged onto the art scene in the 1990s, and were both included in the ground-breaking 1997 exhibition, Sensation, organised in collaboration with Charles Saatchi. At the time, it was considered brash, raw and shocking – as it explored the most basic human emotions and experiences in an unfiltered and unapologetic way. In this session, we will look at both of these artist’s practices to see how they frequently discussed the connections between pleasure and pain – and continue to do so. Finally, we will also look at a younger British contemporary artist, Michael Armitage, who creates beautiful paintings of tropical landscapes, that upon closer inspection are marred by the violence and crime inflicted there.