The Dead (racing green, chilli red)
The Dead (racing green, chilli red)
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
Foil Block, 2009
Signed Print Edition of 15
H 72cm x W 51cm
Critical Review
The Dead (racing green, chilli red) is a signed foil block print in colours on Arches paper produced by renowned contemporary artist, Damien Hirst. The print shows a large skull in the centre of the composition which is rendered in a dark racing green with hints of bold red chilli. The vibrant colours emanate from the print as the skull is set against a plain white background.
The print, made in 2009, is part of the artist’s The Dead series. The series is composed of thirty-one prints, all in a variety of bright and bold colours. The prints all use the same skull as their focal point, and the theme of death lies at the heart of the series. The skull is a central element of Hirst’s iconography, frequently used alongside butterflies and diamonds.
Hirst has had a long-standing fascination with death. When he was sixteen, Hirst would visit the anatomy department of Leeds Medical School to draw the body parts and corpses he found there. Since the late 1980’s, when Hirst studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, Hirst has used a variety of mediums, such as installations, sculptures, paintings and drawings to explore the intricate relationship between art, life and death.
