Name: The Cure (neon yellow, french lilac, amethyst)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 4.9 (174 reviews)

Meaning & Analysis

The Cure (neon yellow, french lilac, amethyst) is a silkscreen print produced by Damien Hirst on Somerset Tub. The print was made in 2014 and shows a two-colour pill, rendered by Hirst in two shades of purple, french lilac and amethyst. The pill is set against a bright, neon yellow backdrop. The purple colours of the pill clash with the yellow background colour, making the pill stand out and dominate the centre of the print.

read more about The Cure

The Cure (neon yellow, french lilac, amethyst) is one of thirty silkscreen prints that compose Hirst’s The Cure series. The series is inspired by modern medicine and the booming pharmaceutical industry which has come to assume an important place in 21st century society. In the series, Hirst renders a singular pill in a combination of two colour tones against a bold and vibrant coloured backdrop. In some prints, the two colours of the pill clash with one another, while in others, all colours in the print complement one another.

The Cure series is based on the minimalist aesthetic of the medicinal pill which, despite its simple appearance, is very complex and sophisticated. The way in which Hirst takes an everyday object, a pill, and transforms it into a piece of fine art, is similar to the way Pop artist Andy Warhol would transform consumer goods into works of art. The influence of Warhol on Hirst is clear and shines through in this series, in particular due to the bold colours Hirst uses throughout the series and the silkscreen printing technique he employs.