Fate
Fate
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
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30 x 25cm, Edition of 45, Aquatint
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Meaning & Analysis
Fate is a print from 2009 by Damien Hirst that shows a bright green butterfly set against a stark, black backdrop. The butterfly appears luminous against the dark background and is visually striking. Shown with its wings outspread and in the centre of the composition, the butterfly is a classic motif within Hirst’s artistic oeuvre.
The butterfly motif is a prominent figure that Hirst has used throughout his career to bring together themes around morality, life, love, faith and aesthetics. Speaking of his obsession with butterflies Hirst has explained, “I think rather than be personal you have to find universal triggers: everyone’s frightened of glass, everyone’s frightened of sharks, everyone loves butterflies.”
Reminiscent of the work of Pop artist Andy Warhol, Hirst has created many prints like this with the same subject and composition, but with varying colour combinations. Rendering the fine detail of the butterfly wings and setting this against the stark colour background, Hirst produces an image that finds universally engaging triggers. This contrast between bold colours used for the butterfly wings and the realism in the detail, plays with Hirst’s concern with facts and truth that images are assumed to depict.
Damien Hirst, born in Bristol in 1965, is often hailed the enfant terrible of the contemporary art world. His provocative works challenge conventions and his conceptual brilliance spans installations, paintings, and sculptures, often exploring themes of mortality and the human experience. As a leading figure of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement in the late '80s, Hirst's work has dominated the British art scene for decades and has become renowned for being laced with controversy, thus shaping the dialogue of modern art.
