26th September 2007
Our favourite British artist Damien Hirst, famous for cutting animals in half and preserving them in formaldehyde is repairing some of his original formaldehyde works.
The next installation to be repaired by Damien Hirst, which contributed to Hirst winning the Turner prize in 1995 is, ‘Mother and Child, Divided’ (1993). A leak has emerged due to a defect in the glass that contains the formaldehyde, as a result some of the formaldehyde has been lost. Formaldehyde has a life span and has to be replaced every decade so the repairs aren’t as a shock.
The fact that the Hirst instalments have to be repaired and maintained kind of creates a new dimension to the work that might not have been thought of when the works were initially created. The instalments are about preserving life after death and the fact that they have to be repaired and maintained adds to this idea.
