Beans chips
1999
from the The Last Supper® series
Medium
colour screenprint
Measurements
152.5 × 101.5 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through the NGV Foundation with the assistance of Andrea Ziegler, Governor, 2002
© Damien Hirst/DACS, London. Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
Gallery location
Level 3, NGV International
About this work
Damien Hirst has long been fascinated by contemporary society’s belief in the power of pharmaceutical drugs. This interest has informed his medicine-cabinet sculptures, pharmacy installations and pharmaceutical-titled spot paintings. The Last Supper® series comprises thirteen enormous screenprints of medicine packets, in which everyday British foods are presented as drug brand names for pharmaceuticals used to treat life-threatening conditions. The series’ title also references the Last Supper, at which Christ offered his twelve disciples eternal salvation through the sacrament of his body and blood in the form of consecrated bread and wine. Hirst’s series satirises contemporary society’s morbid embrace of medical science as the new secular creed replacing religion.
Artwork Details
Edition
ed. 131/150
Printing/Publishing
printed at Coriander Studio London; published by The Paragon Press, London
Accession Number
2002.299.8
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest