Damien Hirst was born in Bristol, but grew up in Leeds. His father left when Hirst was 12 years old and Hirst’s mother struggled to deal with his out of control behaviour. He was arrested twice for stealing. Hirst had a strained relationship with his mother, saying she could not tolerate his rebellion. She apparently heated his Sex Pistols LP on the stove to make a fruit bowl. She did, however, encourage his liking for drawing. Hirst went to Leeds College of Art and Design, he worked for two years on building sites, then studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London (1986–89). He also had a placement in a mortuary, which has very obviously influenced his work. In the 1990s Hirst struggled with addiction to cocaine and drink.

I think most people in today’s Britain are aware of who Damien Hirst is. When you read about him he seems like a bit of a wanker.
He is very protective of his work and the copyright. In 1994 Hirst curated the exhibition ‘Some Went Mad, Some Ran Away’ at the Serpentine Gallery – London, Hirst exhibited ‘Away from the Flock’ which was a sheep in a tank of formaldehyde.

Later an artist from Oxford Mark Bridger poured black ink into it and retitled the piece ‘Black Sheep’. He was prosecuted, at Hirst’s request and was given two years of probation. The sculpture was thereafter restored at a cost of £1000. Hirst himself is involved in a lot of controversy about the originality of some of his works. Hirst was sued in 2000 for breach of copyright over his sculpture, ‘Hymn’, a 20 foot, six ton, enlargement of his son Connor’s 14″ Young Scientist Anatomy Set, designed by Norman Emms, which are produced by toy manufacturer Humbrol for £14.99 each. Hirst had to give money to children’s charity in an out-of-court settlement. In 2007, artist John LeKay said he had given Hirst a copy of a Carolina Biological Supply Company catalogue in the early 1990s, LeKay added:
“You have no idea how much he got from this catalogue. The Cow Divided is on page 647 – it is a model of a cow divided down the centre, just like Hirst’s piece.” Which is the work Hirst won a Turner Prize for in 1995.

Hirst also exhibited in the Saatchi ‘Sensation’ exhibition. He became closely linked with Charles Saatchi, who bought the majority of Hirst’s work. After the Saatchi years, 1991 – 2003, Hirst’s relationship with Saatchi broke down and they parted ways in 2004.

I feel that Hirst’s most interesting work is his newest one, ‘For the love of God’, which made Hirst the most expensive living artist. The work was sold for a massive £50 million.

In the making of it, done by Hirst’s many assistants, so many of the same karat diamond were used that the world supply almost ran out. It is an extremely eerie work, the contrast between the beautiful diamonds and the human teeth. In fact it’s the mouth that makes it, without that it loses it’s human quality and in turn its morbidity.

Sources:
Web:
Wikipedia – Damien Hirst
tate.org.uk – Damien Hirst/Turner Prize