Born in 1970, Ayanda Mji’s creative work was predominantly influenced by the 1990s. Art in the 1990s was defined at the beginning of the decade by a group of artists in the United Kingdom that came to be known as the YBAs, or Young British Artists. They were a diverse group of creatives, affiliated loosely by their age, nationality, and their association with Goldsmiths and the Royal College of Art in London, alongside being favoured by super-collector of the time Charles Saatchi. The most successful artist of the group is Damien Hirst, who was also an early organiser of group activities. Other members included Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, Marc Quinn, Gavin Turk, Sarah Lucas and Sam Taylor-Wood. Much of their work became known for shock tactics and the sensationalism of both material and message. They also became famed for their use of throwaway materials, wild-living, and an attitude that was simultaneously counter-culture rebellion but also entrepreneurial. They gained a large amount of media coverage and dominated British art during the 1990s. Their international shows in the mid-1990s included the now legendary ‘Sensation’. A proliferation of trends characterised the decade, including the highly irreverent sculpture of Maurizio Cattelan, and extremely sensitive advancements of conceptualism as evidenced by the work of artists like Felix Gonzalez-Torres.