Damien Hirst The Soul's on Jacob's Ladder For Sale

The Souls on Jacob’s Ladder Take Their Flight is a series of 6 photogravure etchings produced by the artist in 2007. The portfolio utilises one of Hirst’s best-known motifs, butterflies, combined with a titular Biblical allusion, to create a collection of resplendent specimens in printmaking. The serial nature of the butterflies recalls Hirst’s important 2010 exhibition, The Souls, where the artist hung 120 butterflies in rows on the walls of Paul Stolper Gallery in London: ‘When I think of The Souls I think of Judgement Day, and ‘Jacob’s Ladder’.. Many souls work better than one’. In the present series, Hirst’s title directly references the story of Jacob’s Ladder in the Book of Genesis, where Jacob dreams of a ladder on which angels ascend and descend.  

In each example of the suite, a different butterfly – from canary yellow to electric blue - commands the centre of the composition against a dark background. Their colours evoke different immediate responses: the striped black and yellow swallowtail appears foreboding and exotic, whilst the purely yellow butterfly appears joyful and innocent. Each specimen in the series has not only a distinct appearance but a distinct ‘personality’, fitting with their treatment as ‘souls’. The minimalist elements of the subject and background gives the impression of Victorian taxidermy, where butterflies were often placed in ebonised display cabinets. This classical appearance is further achieved by Hirst’s medium, which is a careful process: each butterfly was taken from a real specimen, scanned by the artist and enlarged. The etching process then employed by Hirst is photogravure: a method of intaglio printmaking that uses the method of photography rather than hand-drawing. Hirst’s depth of background, created by this film process, enhances the spectrum of species shown, with their unique markings and shapely wings. In their sheer vibrancy, the butterflies appear to lift from their frames, a sentiment noted by Hirst himself: “I love butterflies because when they are dead they look alive.”  

Hirst’s fascination with butterflies has been present in his work since the late eighties, and seems to, like much of his work, be at the intersection of art and science, creating an important dialogue about the human condition and modernity. The transformative, fluttering insects are the ultimate symbols of life and death, and thus they are a ‘universal trigger’. With the analytic approach of a lepidopterist and the sensibility of an artist, Hirst invites us to observe the tension between the beauty and mortality of these creatures.