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Damien Hirst

Mercy

Grace

Patience

Goodness

Truth

Damien Hirst’s ‘The Aspects’ (H6) captures to a remarkable degree the sensation of looking through a kaleidoscope. Produced in collaboration with Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland in 2019, ‘The Aspects’ sees a reprisal of Hirst’s characteristic butterfly motif through a series of five unique prints in which the artist continues his search into the butterfly’s potentials as a spiritual and existential metaphor.

In ‘The Aspects’ Hirst carefully arranges images of disembodied butterfly wings in vivid blue hues into transfixing, kaleidoscopic patterns. Playing with the different shapes and colours of the wings, Hirst assembles rigorous geometric patterns reminiscent of the mathematical divisions of his ‘Enter the Infinite’ (H1, 2016) tapestries. In ‘The Aspects’, butterflies, though strictly organised images, nonetheless mimic swarms of insects in active flight. 

For centuries the butterfly has acquired symbolism across religions, but particularly present in ‘The Aspects’ is the Christian faith – each print is named for a characteristic of God’s nature as described in the texts of the Old Testament. Traditionally used in art and literature to signify the resurrection of Christ, Hirst here embraces the mythical sensibility of the butterfly and attaches it to these five universally positive qualities – Mercy, Grace, Patience, Goodness and Truth. Fusing this religious symbolism with his perennial fascination with the butterfly’s ability to retain an exquisite beauty in death just as in life, here Hirst establishes the insect as an uplifting and radiant symbol of mortality. 

Inspired by Victorian tea trays, in 2001 Hirst produced his first ‘Kaleidoscope Painting’, a series which laid the groundwork for not only the complicated, almost scientific organisation of ‘The Aspects’, but also for its stained glass-like quality. While the ‘Kaleidoscope Paintings’ draw direct connections to stained glass windows, even modelling their compositions after existing ones, ‘The Aspects’ refer to the medium’s long association with Christian spirituality through the translucent nature of the wings. The butterfly wings resembling pieces of glass and the black background imitating lead cames, the compositions glow as if made of glass and lit from behind. 

‘The Aspects’ marks an early attempt by Hirst to harness the possibilities of Giclée print on aluminium composite panels, which has permitted him imitate the effects of his butterfly paintings without actually using insects. With this series mounted on Diasec, the images of the butterfly wings are rendered in such fine detail as to seem life-like, the shiny surface of the prints adding to the luminosity of the butterflies’ rich colours. As such, the scientific nature of this study is not lost, capturing the detail, vibrancy and delicacy of the wings in high resolution.

The Aspects

Damien Hirst’s ‘The Aspects’ (H6) captures to a remarkable degree the sensation of looking through a kaleidoscope. Produced in collaboration with Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland in 2019, ‘The Aspects’ sees a reprisal of Hirst’s characteristic butterfly motif through a series of five unique prints in which the artist continues his search into the butterfly’s potentials as a spiritual and existential metaphor.

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst

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