Damien Hirst
Damien Steven Hirst (born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is the most prominent member of the group known as the Young British Artists (or YBAs), who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is internationally renowned, and is reportedly the United Kingdom’s richest living artist, with his wealth valued at £215m in the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List. During the 1990s his career was closely linked with the collector Charles Saatchi, but increasing frictions came to a head in 2003 and the relationship ended.
False Idol
Hirst’s ‘False Idol’ (2008) is presented within the cathedral; a white calf with golden hooves, encased in a gold vitrine and preserved in formaldehyde. The sculpture is taken from the artist’s ‘Natural History’ series. Its title refers to the Biblical account of the Israelites’ idolatrous worship of a golden calf once Moses has departed for Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19, 20, 32).
Although I have included this, it is one of the pieces that I find distasteful, I do get the religious context, however find it quite difficult to observe or spend any time reflecting on. Certainly the use of Formaldyhide in museum settings for preservation is an acceptable practice.
This is definitely one of the more challenging pieces for me to view.
Michelle Wright, Fine Artist 
One thought on “ ARK Sculpture Exhibition ”