Damien Hirst's Skull
Or 'For The Love of God' to give it its proper title, is the most awesome thing I have ever seen. Probably not for the usual arty reasons, hey I'm far too shallow for that! But it was a real event.
Got there about 9.55, my ticket was for 10am, and as anyone who knows me knows I am always anally early for everything! I was determined not to miss my chance to see this. Had to have my booking number checked off and then join a queue. There was a couple in front of me, nice to know I'm not the most anal person here today!
Very smart (and quite handsome) security guards searched my handbag, before letting us into the gallery - thank god it was dry and sunny yesterday morning! Then as about 12 of us were led up some stairs we were given 'the talk'. No photos, no bags allowed in the room, only 2-3 minutes to view it, etc etc.
The room where the skull is kept is pitch black apart from the lights in the glass case. Once I got used to the darkness, I became aware of the incredible colours coming off the 8601 diamonds embedded into the platinum skull. It was like being hypnotised!
Like all girls, I love a diamond, and even own a couple, but I've never before seen this many in one place and it was like a drug! The brilliance of them was incredible. They cover the entire skull, even up inside the nasal cavity and inside the mouth! Then there's the big f**k off one on the forehead which when I was gazing at it seemed to have the imprint of another skull in it - probably a trick of the light or my aging eyes.
What stops this being just another Hip Hopper's wet dream is the addition of the original teeth. That makes it human and you realise it is the head of someone who died. I found it incredibly moving.
We were ushered out, and led down to check out the rest of the works at this branch of White Cube. The entire collection is called Beyond Belief and the other half over at Hoxton Square is on my list of places to visit very soon. Here, as you walk into the main gallery, you are faced with a white dove - mid-flight - suspended in formaldehyde. It's incredibly beautiful and full of hope.
Around the room there's a series of paintings of his son's birth by caesarian section, and I realised that these are the first 'proper' paintings I've ever seen by Damien Hirst. He's an incredible painter! They are so realistic they look like photos from a distance.
Then there's the Biopsy Paintings. based on biopsy images of different forms of cancer and terminal illnesses. I'd checked em out on the White Cube website, but believe me those photos do them no justice. They are gorgeous! The colours are so vivid, and there's shards of broken glass and scalpel blades embedded into the paint making them all glittery and shiny, and fabulous. They're huge, one of them would fill the entire wall in most homes. Just stunning, especially the pink ones which look kind of Indian...I want one!
There's a few butterfly pieces which I also love, and the new shark. This one disected down the middle and kept in two seperate tanks, you can walk down the middle of them and see its innards and those horrible shark teeth. There's also a black sheep on its own which made me feel sad and what looks like a two headed cow, but I'm sure isn't.
The contrast between the dead things and the vivid images of birth really worked for me, the cycle of life and all that. The Dalai Lama describes the body as a suit that gets worn out over time, so a dead body is not the person, just the vehicle that transports the consciouness around in this lifetime. Seeing those dead animals kinda proves that for me.
The final 'statement' piece is viewed on the way out. Its a cow's heart ( ithink) bleached white, with white feathers like a pair of wings and a silver dagger through it...it looks like a tattoo made flesh, and its just sooooooooo stunning! Absolutely wonderful.
Got there about 9.55, my ticket was for 10am, and as anyone who knows me knows I am always anally early for everything! I was determined not to miss my chance to see this. Had to have my booking number checked off and then join a queue. There was a couple in front of me, nice to know I'm not the most anal person here today!
Very smart (and quite handsome) security guards searched my handbag, before letting us into the gallery - thank god it was dry and sunny yesterday morning! Then as about 12 of us were led up some stairs we were given 'the talk'. No photos, no bags allowed in the room, only 2-3 minutes to view it, etc etc.
The room where the skull is kept is pitch black apart from the lights in the glass case. Once I got used to the darkness, I became aware of the incredible colours coming off the 8601 diamonds embedded into the platinum skull. It was like being hypnotised!
Like all girls, I love a diamond, and even own a couple, but I've never before seen this many in one place and it was like a drug! The brilliance of them was incredible. They cover the entire skull, even up inside the nasal cavity and inside the mouth! Then there's the big f**k off one on the forehead which when I was gazing at it seemed to have the imprint of another skull in it - probably a trick of the light or my aging eyes.
What stops this being just another Hip Hopper's wet dream is the addition of the original teeth. That makes it human and you realise it is the head of someone who died. I found it incredibly moving.
We were ushered out, and led down to check out the rest of the works at this branch of White Cube. The entire collection is called Beyond Belief and the other half over at Hoxton Square is on my list of places to visit very soon. Here, as you walk into the main gallery, you are faced with a white dove - mid-flight - suspended in formaldehyde. It's incredibly beautiful and full of hope.
Around the room there's a series of paintings of his son's birth by caesarian section, and I realised that these are the first 'proper' paintings I've ever seen by Damien Hirst. He's an incredible painter! They are so realistic they look like photos from a distance.
Then there's the Biopsy Paintings. based on biopsy images of different forms of cancer and terminal illnesses. I'd checked em out on the White Cube website, but believe me those photos do them no justice. They are gorgeous! The colours are so vivid, and there's shards of broken glass and scalpel blades embedded into the paint making them all glittery and shiny, and fabulous. They're huge, one of them would fill the entire wall in most homes. Just stunning, especially the pink ones which look kind of Indian...I want one!
There's a few butterfly pieces which I also love, and the new shark. This one disected down the middle and kept in two seperate tanks, you can walk down the middle of them and see its innards and those horrible shark teeth. There's also a black sheep on its own which made me feel sad and what looks like a two headed cow, but I'm sure isn't.
The contrast between the dead things and the vivid images of birth really worked for me, the cycle of life and all that. The Dalai Lama describes the body as a suit that gets worn out over time, so a dead body is not the person, just the vehicle that transports the consciouness around in this lifetime. Seeing those dead animals kinda proves that for me.
The final 'statement' piece is viewed on the way out. Its a cow's heart ( ithink) bleached white, with white feathers like a pair of wings and a silver dagger through it...it looks like a tattoo made flesh, and its just sooooooooo stunning! Absolutely wonderful.
Labels: Misc and TV
posted by JoJo Smith at Friday, June 29, 2007
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