Inferno

Damien Hirst’s ‘Inferno’ (2016), a lenticular digital print, remarks in incredible detail his fascination
with natural history through his rendering of insects. Set against a dark backdrop,
the work is an excellent example of the artist’s celebrated series of ‘Entomology Paintings’.

In ‘Inferno’, insects like ladybirds, beetles and butterflies are carefully arranged into patterns akin to
those of his ‘Kaleidoscope’ works. Made after an original painting in which insects were inserted into
Hammerite gloss paint, the present lenticular print manages to maintain the sense of depth and
detail.

‘Inferno’, like all works from ‘Entomology Paintings’, takes its title from Dante Alighieri’s ‘The Divine
Comedy’, specifically the famous journey through Hell. Such references to the tortuous events of the
afterlife highlight the overriding theme of death. Nonetheless, ‘Inferno’ maintains a sense of life with
its vibrant colours conferring the print a sense of liveliness that sparks what Hirst calls a ‘universal
trigger’. Speaking on his ‘Entomology Paintings’ series, Hirst referred to them as ‘beautiful and
horrific at the same time, you can’t help but be drawn into it, seduced by it, but you want to run
away from it’.