Quare Fremuerunt Gentes
Signed Print

The print is part of the artist’s Psalms series. In this series, which the artist started in 2008, Hirst produces various patterned canvases, all of which use butterflies as their main stylistic element. The prints in the series are all named after a psalm from the Old Testament, emblematic of Hirst’s interest in contemporary belief systems, such as religion. The Psalms are part of a broader series, the Kaleidoscope series, an impressive project dating back to 2001, which was inspired by the intricate pattern of butterfly wings Hirst saw on an old Victoria tea tray.

Hirst has been drawn to butterflies since the start of his artistic career in the late 1980s when he was studying Fine Art at Goldsmiths College. Hirst describes the insect as a “universal trigger,” arguing that “Everyone’s frightened of glass, everyone’s frightened of sharks, everyone loves butterflies.”