Morning:
14°c
Sterling sculpture has the hallmark of Hirst
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent12.11.08
IT MAY glitter with all the beauty of polished silver but the subject matter for the new work by Damien Hirst is as bloody as fans would expect.
Grotesque Unicorn - The Dream is Dead is a bull's head with a swordfish bill in it but with the gore subtly modified by being cast in precious metal. It goes on sale in an edition of four at £500,000 (plus VAT).
The work is part of a range by artists including Antony Gormley and David Bailey all cast in sterling silver for a new exhibition in London.
Other pieces include a cast by Marcus Harvey of the head of the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square which was given a grass mohican by anarchists eight years ago.
The exhibition is the idea of the Pangolin gallery in the Kings Place development at King's Cross. With Pangolin Editions, Europe's largest sculpture foundry, it commissioned more than 60 works which go on show to the public from Monday. Prices start from £1,500.
Hirst became involved as his studio in Gloucestershire is next to the foundry, which has cast all his works.
He said: "Silver is one of the elements, one of the building blocks of our material world. It is a symbol of value and preciousness loaded with association even before you make it into anything. Apart from any of that it represents wealth and stature, shines like the moon and is an incredibly beautiful and seductive material. So when Pangolin asked me if I would make a piece for Sterling Stuff I agreed.
"Silver used to be mined in Combe Martin [Devon] where I live, It's dreamy, other-worldly but also sensuous and sexy - natural to make sculpture with. I may have just begun to tap into its potential. Silver seems to magically throw out more light that it absorbs."
In most cases, the works were made in collaboration with the artists, few of whom had worked in silver. The exhibition follows an earlier show at the foundry's in-house gallery.
●Sterling Stuff II runs until 18 January.
