The Dead (racing green, island copper)
The Dead (racing green, island copper)
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
£3,900-£6,000
$8,000-$12,500 Value Indicator
$7,500-$11,000 Value Indicator
¥40,000-¥60,000 Value Indicator
€4,500-€7,000 Value Indicator
$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
¥780,000-¥1,190,000 Value Indicator
$5,500-$8,000 Value Indicator
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72 x 51cm, Edition of 15, Foil Block
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Meaning & Analysis
The Dead (racing green, island copper) is a signed foil block print in colours, on Arches paper produced by renowned contemporary artist, Damien Hirst. In this print, Hirst renders a floating skull in a marblelike racing green with tones of island copper against a plain white backdrop. The skull dominates the centre of the composition and stares out at the viewer of the print.
The print, made in 2009, is one of thirty-one prints that belong to The Dead series. While each print in the series shows the same skull, the colours Hirst uses vary from print to print, meaning no two in the series are alike. By using such bold and vibrant colours, Hirst challenges the viewer to confront the theme of death and human mortality and think of death in a more positive way. Indeed, Hirst explains, “You can frighten people with death or an idea of their own mortality, or it can actually give them vigour.”
The Dead series is similar to other series by Hirst such as I Once Was What You Are, You Will Be What I Am (2007) and Memento (2008), which similarly use the skull icon as their focal point.