Penitent
2011
Silver, paint
Overall dimensions: 166.5 × 48 × 48 cm (65 9/16 × 18 7/8 × 18 7/8 in.)
A leather mask completely covers a head, severely impairing its senses. This sculpture, called Penitent, evokes underlying violence and redemption through submission and suffering. However, the coral covering the hood softens its oppressive aspect, opening a door to the imaginary underwater world from which it seems to have been extracted.
Penitence and sin, frequent themes in Damien Hirst's work, take the form of a silver sculpture depicting a nameless masked individual. This extreme conception of penitence is the counterpart of Sinner, a sculpture that is similar but perfectly smooth, like a metal mask.
Created for the 2017 show "Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable", Hirst's Penitent is in the Pinault Collection. It was presented for the first time at the Palazzo Grassi.
Penitence and sin, frequent themes in Damien Hirst's work, take the form of a silver sculpture depicting a nameless masked individual. This extreme conception of penitence is the counterpart of Sinner, a sculpture that is similar but perfectly smooth, like a metal mask.
Created for the 2017 show "Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable", Hirst's Penitent is in the Pinault Collection. It was presented for the first time at the Palazzo Grassi.
Exhibitions
© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, Adagp, Paris.
Photographed by Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.
