Damien Hirst at the Pier Arts Centre

ARTIST ROOMS
Damien Hirst

Sat, 20th June-Sat, 12th Sept 2015

I can`t say that I`m a huge fan of Damien Hirst works but as a leading figure of
British Contemporary Art of almost 30 yrs, he must be worth a look!!

This `Artist Rooms` exhibition has been subject to much controversy in Orkney, particularly to one of its works `Away from the Flock`  (a lamb in formaldehyde solution). Although the piece was made in 1994 and is `referencing the allegorical representation of Christ as the sacrificial lamb of God` its arrival here perhaps couldn't have come at a worse time as farmers have suffered huge lamb losses due to the terrible weather conditions. In saying this, PAC have said that the local visitor numbers are up and although there was a lot of grumbling and tutting about this exhibition, it maybe proves `there`s no such thing as bad publicity` !!!!

And here is the controversial works...........................

`Away from the Flock`
(1994)

I don`t especially like sheep but this was beautifully

 preserved and reminded me of a cuddly toy.

 I found the opaque glaze of the eyes a little disturbing,

 a chilling reminder that the creature is dead.

 From certain angles there appears to be more than one lamb,

 an intriguing optical illusion created by the glass box?

Another interesting piece was these three large medicine cabinets displaying medical models intended as teaching tools for doctors, dentist etc . They were disproportionate to the human body and the bright coloured plastic reminded me (again) of children's toys but I`m not sure you`d let kids play with them? Hirst was raised as a catholic and often makes references to Christian  iconography. The presentation of the works refers to church alter pieces, whilst the title relates to the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit

`Trinity-Pharmacology, Physiology, Pathology`

(2000)

There was also a display of collages produced by  Hirsts in his early days that demonstrates his formative interest in the constructions of Margret Mellis (1914-2009), whom he met in the mid 80`s before attending art school. 

Margaret Mellis, Number 35 (1983), household paint on wood

Damien Hirst, Red and Pink Balloon (1996), paper, card, paint and glue

 Hirst saw these works as bridges between painting and sculpture and considered them a re-arrangement of "already organised elements", which then got "tumbled around with other stuff and became things in their own right".

Although these works may look a bit `rough and ready` they are the foundations on which Hirst built his career and I can see the relationship between these and the his newer pieces through the abstract  arrangements of the objects and the meanings of these found within, his use of shape, colour and texture and the way he captures them within a frame.

For me, Hirst`s artworks are very thought provoking and I guess that is the point of  his art, isn`t it? Location, religion, culture, age and even timing would have an impact on how its seen and perhaps appreciated? Possibly Hirst understands this and maybe he doesn`t care if you like his art or not, the point is to question and think about it, its about communicating to each viewer individually so that ultimately everyone responds to it- good or bad he gets a reaction? However you view his art there is no doubt that he has become a very successful artist and even if you don`t know his name you`ll probably recognise some of his works!