Damien Hirst

Dumpling (from 'The Last Supper')

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About this artwork

This 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.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Damien Hirst (born 1965) English
  • title:
    Dumpling (from 'The Last Supper')
  • date created:
    1999
  • materials:
    1 of 13 screenprints
  • measurements:
    153.00 x 101.50 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased (Knapping Fund) with the assistance of the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland 2004
  • accession number:
    GMA 4755 G
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst