Name: The Cure (carnation pink, hot pink, violet pink)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 5 (233 reviews)

Meaning & Analysis

The Cure (carnation pink, hot pink, violet pink) is a silkscreen print by renowned contemporary artist, Damien Hirst on Somerset Tub. Hirst produced this print in 2014 which depicts a two-colour pill rendered in hot pink and violet pink against a carnation pink backdrop. In many of the prints in The Cure series, Hirst uses bold, contrasting colours which make the pill clash with its background colour. In this print, however, the artist privileges different tones of pink, which nevertheless has a dramatic and captivating effect on the viewer.

The Cure (carnation pink, hot pink, violet pink) is one of thirty silkscreen prints that compose Hirst’s The Cure series. Each print in this series follows the same format as Hirst renders a singular pill in a combination of two colour tones against a bold and vibrant coloured backdrop.

The bold and vibrant colours of the print, as well as the silkscreen printing technique resonate with the work of the iconic American artist, Andy Warhol and his signature Pop Art style which was prevalent in the 1960s. Pop Art has political undertones, with Warhol making a statement about capitalism and global consumerism through his production of prints of everyday consumer goods like high heel shoes or even Campbell’s Soup cans. Hirst’s prints similarly make a political statement regarding the pharmaceutical industry and the way modern society is obsessed with medicine. The simple, minimalist design of the pill reflects the confidence the pharmaceutical industry has in its healing abilities and capacity to cure anyone and anything. The manipulation of scale in the print, with the pill appearing to be extremely large, dominating the entire composition, is another technique employed by Hirst to represent the self-assured and assertive nature of pharmaceutical companies.