Beyond Belief

Published to accompany Damien Hirst’s 2007 exhibition at White Cube in London, Beyond Belief shows new work by Hirst including major formaldehyde pieces, to the more recent ＂fact paintings＂ and the now legendary diamond skull ＂For the Love of God,＂ emphasising that Hirst is quite possibly the most outstanding international contemporary artist: ＂This is the real beginning of the 21st century, just as the 20th began with the Demoiselles d’Avignon. I don’t care about the so-called meaning, this thing is about victory over death. This is an image so tremendously powerful that it will change art.＂ Beyond Belief includes over 70 exquisite full colour plates and an essay by novelist and writer Will Self that discusses hallmark works such as ＂A Thousand Years＂ (1990), and Hirst’s practice and ascendance to international fame through the late 1990s. Accompanying Self ’s insightful and engaging text is an in-depth interview between Hirst and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director of London’s Serpentine Gallery, and also an essay by art historian andcurator Rudi Fuchs that considers and explores the significance of ’For the Love of God’ in relation to Hirst’s oeuvre: ＂After all, Damien Hirst’s art is concerned with love and fear, with death, malady, physical decay, medical practice and pharmaceutical illusion ... The inevitable proximity of death is the most real thing in human life. Fear of death is a more powerful emotion than love or lust. To some extent fear of death keeps us alive.＂

Born in Bristol in 1965, Damien Hirst studied at Goldsmith’s College, London. In 1988 he curated the now renowned exhibition, ’Freeze’, held in London. In 1991, he had his first solo exhibition in London entitled ’In and Out of Love’ and the following year he was a major part of the groundbreaking Young British Artists exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, London. He was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize, London in 1995. Hirst’s work has been shown in many important group and solo shows throughout the world. He lives and works in Devon, London and Mexico.