For our contextual research for our sculpture class, we were asked to do research on three sculptors. The first sculptor I decided to research is Damien Hirst.

Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965 and grew up in Leeds. A couple years later, in 1984, he moved to London where he worked in construction before studying in the Goldsmiths college for a BA in fine art. Hirst is infamous for his interest in the “unacceptable idea” of death which started to develop when Hirst was still a teenager in Leeds. Some of his infamous work includes “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” which is a shark suspended in formaldehyde solution, and “The Prodigal Son” which is a calf cut in half with both halves also suspended in formaldehyde solution.

I think Hirst’s work is pretty fascinating as I find odd and obscure works of art really interesting and intriguing. His work also somewhat relates to my flower diagram sculpture as, like some of his work, it is what a flower would look like if it was sliced in half. I really like works of art that are out there and go against the grain of what is expected from that spectrum of art which is why Hirst’s work is right up my alley.