Till Death Do Us Part (long life purple african gold imperial purple)

The Till Death Do Us Part series depicts one of Hirst’s most famed motifs: the human skull. In 2007 Hirst created one of his most enigmatic works, For the Love of God, a diamond-encrusted skull cast from platinum plates and set with diamonds, weighing a huge 1,106.18 carats. Fascinated by death as a subject for artistic investigation, Hirst does not represent decay or fear of death with his diamond encrusted piece, but instead transforms this image of mortality into an aestheticized symbol. Hirst’s Till Death Do Us Part series has a similar effect, with his use of repetition and saturated colours that represent the constant psychic tussle between life and death, beauty and decay, desire and fear, love and loss.

It is only in the later stages of Hirst’s career that he has become interested in prints and editions. His first print portfolio was produced in 1999 and was a set of screen prints that depicted medicine bottle labels. Since his first print portfolio, Hirst has produced many prints and editions like those in the Till Death Do Us Part series and are a major part of his oeuvre.