The 2009 Sanctum series comprises of 6 etchings, each with ornate and intricate patterns created from butterfly wings. The names of each of the works reference parts of a cathedral which also fit in with Hirst’s interests in religion, death and rebirth. Visually, the works are striking and recall the great stained glass windows found in the great Christian cathedrals - themselves towering odes to the ethereal. Each of the works are replete with kaleidoscopic patterned symmetry with the interlocking wings creating a circular shape. The complex patterns, coupled with the natural beauty and intricate lines of the butterfly wings themselves are mesmeric and one can easily allow the mind to wander when enjoying them. This concept of a yoga-esque state or trance that they, and all good art evokes, allows us to escape ourselves and contemplate deeper ideas that often get lost in the hectic nature of life.
Bursting onto the scene with his first major installation, “In and Out of Love” in 1991, butterflies have been a continued and constant source of both fascination and inspiration for the artist. Elsewhere, we see the complex patterns formed from the butterfly wings in his 2001 work “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Indeed, Hirst has said, “I think rather than be personal you have to find universal triggers: everyone's frightened of glass, everyone's frightened of sharks, everyone loves butterflies.”
There is a certain sense of spiritual stillness to the works that evokes a meditative feeling. One can’t help but think of eastern religious motifs, namely mandalas, when looking at the series. Life and death (the ultimate symbol that the butterfly can represent) seem to flow effortlessly throughout the works creating a religious, otherwordly feel.
Together, the prints in Sanctum bring together themes of science, aesthetics and religion through the motif of the butterfly and its patterns. Each print in the series can be interprested as a thesis or examination into beauty, nature and of course, the fleeingless of life. Such undercurrents bubble under the surface of the work, enticing and enthralling us as viewers.
The works bring together a variety of themes that Hirst has touched on science, the abstract, repetition, life, death and religion and, when compared to other series that only reference one of such themes, can be seen as a more complete representation of the artist.
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