Meaning & Analysis

H6-7 Air is a Diasec-mounted giclée print on aluminium composite panel, produced by the acclaimed contemporary artist, Damien Hirst in 2020. The print depicts a mesmerising pattern of butterfly wings that spiral out from one another. The print is rendered in pastel colours, with turquoise, lilac, blue and yellow dominating the print. These light colours resonate with the element the print represents, ‘Air’.

read more about H6 The Elements

Air is part of The Elements series. This series is composed of four prints, each of which relate to one of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. For thousands of years, it was believed that these four elements made up and influenced all matter in the universe. The elements played a significant role in Greek philosophy and were a cornerstone of science and medicine. The Elements series is not Hirst’s first exploration of the elements. The artist first depicted them in his 1992 artwork Pharmacy. In this work, Hirst created four glass bottles, filled with coloured liquids to represent each of the elements.

Air resembles Hirst’s Kaleidoscope Paintings. In these works, Hirst creates kaleidoscope patterns out of thousands of different coloured butterfly wings. Arranged in intricate geometric patterns, like in The Elements- Air, the viewer is challenged to look closely at the prints to uncover what the patterns are composed of.