Twist and Shout belongs to one of the most famous and recognizable motifs of Hirst´s production, his spin series. This color etching is the result of some of the artist´s earliest experimentations with spin art, made in 1992 at his studio in Brixton, London. The series began in 1994, when Hirst had a spin machine made whilst living in Berlin. A series of his machine-made spin drawings were subsequently exhibited at Bruno Brunnet Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin, later that year. The chance spontaneity of the spin paintings explores the idea of an imaginary mechanical painter, and the results of the spins are controlled purely by the artist’s color choices and the motion of the machine. Twist and Shout is a color etching originally worked over by Damien Hirst, published in an edition of 68. Indeed, the pastel and aquatint splashes are added to the individual piece, making each exemplar totally unique. This work features a combination of soft and hard ground etching combined with painterly splashes of red which break the regular circling lines. As a result, Twist and Shout mediates energy and lures to its circular symmetry with bright yellows, greens, and blues, where the red splashes are coexisting in a beautiful harmony that invites to synesthetic contemplation.
“ I really like making them. And I really like the machine, and I really like the movement. Every time they’re finished, I’m desperate to do another one. „