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Cornish Pasty (from ʼThe Last Supperʼ)
Damien Hirst
- © The Artist
Damien Hirst
Cornish Pasty (from 'The Last Supper')1999This is one in a series of thirteen screenprints based on pharmaceutical packaging. However, Hirst has replaced the brand names of the drugs with variations on his own name and initials in all but one of the prints. The exotic-sounding drug names have been replaced with names of everyday foodstuffs. Hirst makes connections between religion and medicine, perhaps to suggest that we now place our trust in the latter and consume medication as unquestioningly as food. The number of prints echoes the number of disciples, plus Jesus, present at the Last Supper. The prints also recall Andy Warhol's use of packaging and commercial art.
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Screenprint
A print made by forcing ink through a screen on which a stencil is placed. Traditionally used for commercial printing, it has been taken up by artists since the 1960s when it was used extensively in Pop art.
Details
- Accession no. GMA 4755 M
- Medium 1 of 13 screenprints
- Size 153.00 x 101.50 cm
- Credit Purchased (Knapping Fund) with the assistance of the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland 2004
Damien Hirst (English, born 1965)
Hirst was born in Bristol and grew up in Leeds, moving to London in 1986 to study at Goldsmith's College. While still a student, he organised the enormously successful 'Freeze' exhibition, which featured his own work as well as that of fellow students. This brought him to the attention of the highly influential art collector Charles Saatchi and is generally seen as the starting point for the 'Young British Artists' movement. The central theme of Hirst's work is mortality. He is best known for the 'Natural History' series of works, in which dead animals are preserved in tanks. He is also interested in medical paraphernalia and has produced series of spot paintings, spin paintings and steel and glass cases.
Glossary Open
Goldsmiths College
An art college founded in 1891 and now part of the University of London. Lucian Freud, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor-Wood are among those who have studied there.
Young British Artists (YBAs)
A group of conceptual British artists, mainly born in the 1960s, first gathered together by Damien Hirst in 1988 to take part in an exhibition called 'Freeze'. The term YBA was coined following the show 'Young British Artists I', featuring work by Hirst and Rachel Whiteread, which was held at the Saatchi Gallery, London, in 1992. Many of the artists known as YBAs trained at Goldsmiths College of Art, London. The phenomenon is also known as 'Britart'.