[2] The title is often misinterpreted as a euphemism for sexual partners, but was in fact intended more inclusively:[1] Some I'd had a shag with in bed or against a wall; some I had just slept with, like my grandma.

[4] In a 2004 interview,[5] Emin discussed her intent, stating it was about "abortion, rape, teenage sex, abuse and poverty".

The work was created during a relationship she had in the mid-1990s with Carl Freedman, who had been an early friend of, and collaborator with, Damien Hirst, and who had co-curated seminal Britart shows, such as Modern Medicine and Gambler.

At that time Emin had not achieved the level of fame she later did, and was mainly known in art circles; she was fortunate to be able to exhibit alongside better-known artists such as Hirst, Gilbert and George and Sarah Lucas.

[1] Emin described the genesis of the work, which turned out unexpectedly to be the show's highlight:[1] At that time Sarah [Lucas] was quite famous, but I wasn't at all.

[11] The public and media reaction was not sympathy but mockery and scorn,[12] focusing on the Young British Artists, Hirst, the Chapman Brothers, and Emin, particularly her tent.

[13] Tabloid papers The Sun and the Daily Mail both stated they had already created their own replacement tents, and the latter's Godfrey Barker asked, "Didn't millions cheer as this 'rubbish' went up in flames?

; Hugo Rifkind in The Times thought similarly to The Independent's Tom Lubbock, who wrote: It's odd to hear talk about irreplaceable losses.

[13]Emin took a phlegmatic view of her work's destruction, saying, "The news comes between Iraqi weddings being bombed and people dying in the Dominican Republic in flash floods, so we have to get it into perspective.

[16] In collaboration with Uri Geller, artist Stuart Semple collected remains from the Momart fire site and packaged them in eight plastic boxes under the title Burn Baby Burn; the boxes had slogans in pink lettering, including "RIP YBA" which referred to the Young British Artists, amongst whom Emin is classified.