Elements

Heni Editions is delighted to release four new editions by Damien Hirst: The Elements. Many Eastern and Western philosophies teach that the universe is made up of elements that need to be harmoniously balanced in order to support the proper flow of spiritual and life force energy. The idea that these four elements – earth, air, fire and water – made up all matter was the cornerstone of philosophy, science and medicine for over two thousand years.

Damien Hirst first symbolised the elements in his 1992 artwork ‘Pharmacy’ which showed four glass apothecary bottles, filled with coloured liquids to represent each of the elements – the traditional symbol of a pharmacy enabling people to recognise one before mass literacy. In ancient times, the elements were used to heal the sick before modern medicine and Hirst has long been interested in our belief in medicine and cures. Damien has said “I can’t understand why most people believe in medicine and don’t believe in art, without questioning either… I like the way art works, the way it brightens people’s lives up… but I was having difficulty convincing the people around me that it was worth believing in. And then I noticed that they were believing in medicine in exactly the same way that I wanted them to believe in art.”