Goodness – H6-4 – (The Aspects)

Like a kaleidoscope, various hues of blue and white butterfly wings are allocated into intricate patterns in Damien Hirst’s ‘Goodness’, a striking print from ‘The Aspects’ (H6, 2019). The logic of the present composition, defined by a rigorous geometric pattern, is derived from the Hirst’s encounter with intricate patterns of butterfly wings on Victorian tea trays.

Emanating out from the centre of ‘Goodness’ are single and paired wings arranged into six-point star patterns, the four corners of the picture plane filled with further wings. The composition is symmetrical, the patterns repeated exactly across the work and sectioned by 12 black lines that emerge from the centre to evenly divide the composition.

Set against a black background, these butterfly wings are not real but appear lifelike as the superb quality of the present edition manages to capture their every detail. This liveliness is further enhanced by their apparent illumination, recollective of Gothic stained glass windows. Fascinated by the spiritual symbolism inherent to butterflies, which have been used by the Greeks to depict Psyche, the soul, and in Christian imagery to signify the resurrection, Hirst rendered the wings like pieces of glass lit from behind, enhancing their mystical qualities.