Death may be gazing at you from the foot of your bed, but good luck wrapping your mind around what he has in store for you. Conceived by Hirst in 1989 whilst at Goldsmiths, the ‘ Natural History.
From the cave drawings in Africa dating back 25 000 years to modernism and postmodernism, art has been shaped and has helped shape the world we live in. To come face-to-face with something that is dead, something that, were it living, could end your own life, is a very thought-provoking and, ultimately, frightening thing.
‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ has become embedded in popular culture as one of the most iconic images of contemporary art.
“The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” is philosophical at its core. The early work which set the foundation for the upcoming success and critical acclaim for Hirst is The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living or colloquially known as The Shark made by the artist in 1991.
The piece was created in 1991 by Hirst, commissioned by Charles Saatchi who then sold it for approximately $12 million dollars. Damien Hirst’s shark, titled “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living,” from 1991, will be on display at the Metropolitan Museum for three years. Damien Hirst’s “The physical impossibility of death In the mind of someone living” Art has developed throughout time at the same pace as human evolution.
‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ comprises of a 14-foot tiger shark suspended and preserved in formaldehyde, in a vitrine.