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Damien Hirst, Shepard Fairey & Invader: The Making of Triple Trouble
What happens when three of the world’s most iconic artists—Damien Hirst, Shepard Fairey, and Invader—combine their legendary styles?
Go behind the scenes of 'Triple Trouble' to see the chaos, the trust, and the process behind their collaboration.
In this exclusive HENI Talk, Damien Hirst, Shepard Fairey, and Invader (Space Invader) discuss the evolution of their three-way collaboration. From putting an Invader in a formaldehyde tank to melding the "Make Art Not War" iconography with intricate butterfly mandalas, the artists reveal the "relentless experimentation" required to find harmony on the edge of chaos.
Time Period:
21st century
Themes:
Damien Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol and grew up in Leeds. He studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths college from 1986 to 1989, and whilst in his second year, he conceived and curated the group exhibition, 'Freeze'. The show is commonly acknowledged to have been the launching point not only for Hirst, but for a generation of British artists.
Since the late 1980s, Hirst has used a varied practice of installation, sculpture, painting and drawing to explore the complex relationships between art, beauty, religion, science, life and death. Through work that includes the iconic shark in formaldehyde, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991) and For the Love of God (2007), a platinum cast of a skull set with 8,601 flawless pavé-set diamonds, he investigates and challenges contemporary belief systems, and dissects the uncertainties at the heart of human experience. In April 2017, he presented his most complex project to date, 'Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable', across two museum spaces in Venice. Hirst lives and works in London and Gloucester.
Since 1987, over 90 solo Damien Hirst exhibitions have taken place worldwide, and he has been included in over 300 group shows. In 2012, Tate Modern, London presented a major retrospective survey of Hirst's work in conjunction with the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Hirst's other solo exhibitions include Qatar Museums Authority, ALRIWAQ Doha (2013-2014); Palazzo Vecchio, Florence (2010); Oceanographic Museum, Monaco (2010); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2008); Astrup Fearnley Museet für Moderne Kunst, Oslo (2005); Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples (2004); Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, Pinault Collection, Venice (2017), amongst others. His work features in major collections including Tate Collection; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Fondazione Prada; Astrup Fearnley Museum and the Broad Art Foundation. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995.
Shepard Fairey is a contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, and founder of OBEY Clothing and creative agency Studio Number One. In 1989, while at Rhode Island School of Design studying for his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration, Shepard Fairey created the “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker that later evolved into the OBEY GIANT art campaign. In 2008, his portrait of then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama became an internationally recognized emblem of hope. He is known for the “We The People” campaign debuted during the 2017 Women’s Marches worldwide. Fairey has painted nearly 140 public murals, become one of the most sought-after and provocative artists globally, changing the way people converse about art and view the urban landscape.