Name: The Souls IV (topaz, Westminster blue, African gold)
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 4.9 (219 reviews)

Meaning & Analysis

Taken from Damien Hirst’s vast series titled The Souls from 2010, The Souls IV (topaz, Westminster blue, African gold))) is a foil block print showing a large butterfly with its wings outspread. Set against a plain, white backdrop, the butterfly is depicted in two shades of blue and is striking in its simplicity.

Hirst uses saturated and bright hues to depict the butterflies in The Souls series, playing with this tension between life and death that the butterflies symbolise. Hirst has used the butterfly as a reflection of life throughout his artistic oeuvre and is fascinated by the appearance of life that the insect retains in death. The Souls series is representative of the way that Hirst puts themes of morality, life, love, faith and aesthetics into dialogue with one another to create spectacular and aphoristic images.

Across the entire of The Souls series there are four species of butterflies depicted in each print, within which are 80 colour variations, each presented as an edition of 15. The abundance of butterflies across the series reflects the various insects found in a meadow, each one unique.