Damien Hirst (b. 1965, Bristol) is one of the most influential and provocative figures in contemporary art. A leading member of the Young British Artists (YBAs), Hirst rose to prominence in the 1990s with a practice that confronts themes of life, death, science, religion, and consumerism through sculpture, painting, installation, and mixed media. His work is known for its dramatic use of materials—formaldehyde-preserved animals, surgical instruments, pharmaceutical packaging, diamonds, and butterflies—encased in vitrines or arranged in highly polished displays.Hirst first gained attention while still a student at Goldsmiths College when he curated Freeze (1988), the seminal exhibition that launched the YBAs. He won the Turner Prize in 1995 and became closely associated with collector Charles Saatchi, before breaking away in 2003. His landmark work The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991)—a tiger shark suspended in formaldehyde—became an icon of 1990s British art and epitomized his Natural History series.Known for his exploration of repetition, belief, and spectacle, Hirst has produced major series including the Spot Paintings (1986–), Pharmaceutical Cabinets (1988–2012), and Butterfly Paintings (2001–08). His controversial For the Love of God (2007)—a platinum-cast human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds—underscored his fascination with mortality, beauty, and value.In 2008, Hirst made headlines by bypassing galleries and auctioning an entire show directly at Sotheby’s, raising over £111 million. His 2017 exhibition Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable filled the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice with imagined artifacts and questioned the boundaries between myth, truth, and artifice.Hirst’s work is held in major public collections including Tate, MoMA, and the Gagosian Gallery network. He lives and works in London and founded the Newport Street Gallery in 2015 to share his art collection with the public.

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst, a poster boy for the Young British Artists who rose to prominence in late 1980s London, is one of the most notorious artists of his generation.

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A composition that is infused with an exhilarating sense of speed and movement, Taytu Betul is named after the fierce empress of Ethiopia. Upon her marriage to Emperor Menelik, in 1889 Taytu Betul (c. 1851-1918) became empress of Ethiopia. She was anything but a passive ruler, unequivocally resistant to imperialism and staunchly opposed to any negotiations that would result in a loss of Ethiopian territory. During her reign, Taytu Betul also founded Addis Ababa, which remains Ethiopia’s capital city today. 

Taytu Betul immediately draws the eye to the red and black pairs of wings that form the basis of the composition: the spiral. It begins at the centre of the work and moves outward, apparently past the picture plane. The momentum that develops as this composition progresses echoes the passion and physical dedication of Taytu Betul who was at the head of her army as they went to war to defend their borders. These wings are complemented by additional arrangements of variously sized, coloured and patterned wings, which form a sort of secondary backdrop to the central action of the work. 

Taytu Betul stands out from the series for its vigorous attempt to capture the butterflies in their true living form. With the composition resembling an aerial view, the print allows viewers to look downward as the momentum of this pack of butterflies is captured in the spiral and dynamic development of the composition.

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—Damien Hirst