Damien Hirst's Exhibition Vist (Walsall)

Damien Hirst's Exhibition

This exhibition visit at Walsall was very interesting. I have been interested in some of Damien Hirsts work from the time I have been at University and to see it up front was amazing.
The gallery and the way he laid his work out was good as it was not just all in one place, it was spread out within the rest of the artworks from various other artists in the gallery. Although his work was dispersed around the gallery it was clearly labelled with a 'DH' followed by the title of the artwork and what it is made from.
Here is a few of his artworks I viewed in this exhibition:

'Forms Without Life'

Hirst was curious about old museums that have an origin in the 16th century. He likes when the objects were put in cabinets and arranged according to type. This piece of art is where Damien Hirst arranged the collection of shells in rows classified for a natural history display. He did this to remind us that we are looking at part of the body of a sea creature that was once alive, one kind of death is necessary for another new form of life or knowledge to be displayed.  

'Love Will Tear Us Apart'

When Damien Hirst was young he swallowed tablets thinking them for sweets and had to have his stomach pumped. This was the trigger into the fascination of medicine and the confidence that drugs will cure everything. The colours of the syringes are pastel coloured and pleasantly packaged like sweets in a vending machine but are lethal, this was relating it to his childhood experience. He enjoys the contradiction between appearance and reality.

'Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree'

This is a spin painting of Damien Hirst. To make these etchings he attached copperplate's to a spin machine and drew on them as they rotated using a range of sharp tools, including needles and screwdrivers. This can be linked to a DJ turning deck.

'Pharmacy Wallpaper'

This wallpaper is designed for a pharmacy. These images are paired with a biblical reference, he is alluding to the idea that pharmaceutical products are a replacement for God in modern mythology. He said 'People have a lot of confidence in medicine. I noticed they were looking at shiny colours and bright shapes and nice white coats and they were going, right-this is going to be my savior, except they weren't reading the side effects'.

'Pharmacology, Physiology, Pathology'

This piece also draws lines between science and religion. These pieces are neatly arranged in a cabinet and consists of 3 types of scientific study. For Damien Hirst these 3 types of scientific study have governed our lives, science has came to offer the same protection from death as eternal life in Christianity.

I have really enjoyed this day out, and I am also going to do some further research into his work as I am still fascinated into the thoughts behind each piece of art!