Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst is a British surrealist and instillation artists born in 1965. He is known for the controversy that surrounds his work and also known for being a member of the Young British Artists (YBA) that dominated the art scene in the 1990's. This group also included other known artists such as Tracey Emin. Along with other artists he recreated the British art scene and brought attention to the country's modern art scene.
There are many reoccurring scenes in Hirst's work, two of them are mixing the concepts of both life and death, another is publicity and privacy. I looked at Damien Hirst's art during my creative process as my message was really similar to those in his work. I really like the aesthetic value of his work as well. I looked at his most famous works such as 'Mother and child devided', ' Away from the flock' and 'The anatomy of an angel'. I liked the contrast of life and death in these pieces of work and the preservation of life but i also liked the idea of making something that is private and  not usually assessable to the everyday public.

Here are a few of my favourite pieces by Damien Hirst -

This piece is entitled 'Away from the Flock'. I like this piece because of its preservation of an animal that many people would be too afraid  or conscious of approaching. I like that he has captured the sheep in a majestic pose and encased it so it becomes a piece of art and not just a run of the mill sheep. I liek the boundries that where crossed with this piece of art. It would of had people questioning ''Is this art?'' 

This piece is entitled ' The anatomy of an angel'. I like the surrealism in this piece and also how Hirst has taken a fantasy or a mythical creature and tried to make it almost relateable. He has shown the audience the insides of an angel and made it have the same insides as humans. I think there is something really strong about this piece of work.

This piece is entitled  'Mother and child devided'. I really like the way Hirst has broken down the boundried between publicity and privacy in this piece of work as we never usually get to see the innards of a cow. I like that he has captured birth and death all in one piece as well as giving the public an oppertunity to look on the innards of a pregnant cow.


Damien Hirsts work will continue to inspire me through my work as i like how brave and bold his artwork was. I also like the idea of exploring things we never normally do. I believe that i did this with my image of a baby inside a womb, it almost divided the privacy of the baby and the publicity of putting it on a magazine.