Damien Hirst’s series The Souls on Jacob’s Ladder Take Their Flight (2007) features real butterfly specimens against stark black backgrounds, produced through a meticulous heliogravure process. The title references the biblical story of Jacob’s Ladder, where Jacob envisions angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. Hirst uses this reference to introduce themes of spirituality and doubt, with the butterflies representing "souls taking flight," blending religious imagery with a modern sense of scepticism and mystery. The labour-intensive heliogravure process, involving acid-etched copper plates and layered printing, parallels an entomologist’s care in preserving butterfly specimens. It required multiple print layers to achieve rich colours and depth and achieve this dramatic effect, with only five to seven butterflies printed per day by two printers.
Hirst’s fascination with butterflies is rooted in their unique ability to appear alive even when dead, symbolising themes of life, death, beauty, and belief—central motifs in his work. Butterflies first appeared in Hirst’s art in his 1991 exhibition In and Out of Love, where live butterflies emerged from canvases in a setup symbolising natural cycles. Over the years, butterflies — living or preserved — have become recurring elements in his oeuvre.
“ I love butterflies because when they are dead they look alive. „