6/3/2007
Damien Hirst
Wallspace, London
New Religion includes an altar holding a cedar cross studded with gem-like pills, a child's skull and a heart wrapped in barbed wire and pierced by needles and razor blades and a large carved marble pill. One complete set of prints and sculptural objects are displayed in a specially constructed devotional case or reliquary. Three large new paintings made specifically to hang behind the altar at All Hallows.
New Religion
New Religion includes an altar holding a cedar cross studded with gem-like pills, a child's skull and a heart wrapped in barbed wire and pierced by needles and razor blades, cast in silver, and a large carved marble pill. One complete set of prints and sculptural objects are displayed in a specially constructed devotional case or reliquary. And, so struck was Damien Hirst with the church's interior that he has also produced three large new paintings made specifically to hang behind the altar at All Hallows.
This is the first time that New Religion has been seen in a sacred space.
Damien Hirst was born in Bristol, England in 1965 and attended Goldsmiths College from 1986 to 1989. He was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1992, and won the award when he was nominated again in 1995. His works were selected on the basis of his exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Saatchi Gallery, and his touring show, which opened at the Serpentine Gallery.
The impulses driving Damien Hirst’s work stem from dilemmas inherent in human life, “I am aware of mental contradictions in everything, like: I am going to die and I want to live for ever. I can't escape the fact and I can’t let go of the desire”. The materials he uses often shock, but he says he uses shock almost as a formal element, not so much to thrust his work in the public eye, “but rather to make aspects of life and death visible”.
Wallspace is an exhibition venue in the church of All Hallows on the Wall in the City of London. Its aim is to provide a spiritual home for the visual arts in the capital. The vision for Wallspace has been developed principally by its Director, freelance curator Meryl Doney.
Wallspace
All Hallows on the Wall, 83 London Wall, EC3M 5ND
Opening times:
Monday to Friday 12:00 - 18:00
Thursday 12:00 - 20:00
Saturday 10:00 - 16:00
Sunday by arrangement
ADMISSION FREE