Damien Hirst’s ‘Mercy’ evokes the artist’s characterisation of his ‘Cherry Blossoms’ (2018-20) painting series as “garish, messy and fragile”. The third work from his ‘The Virtues’ (H9, 2021) print series, ‘Mercy’ is named for the tender third virtue of Bushidō, the Samurai code of ethics. As described by Nitobe Inazō, Mercy is “the feeling of distress, love, magnanimity, affection for others, sympathy and pity”.