Damien Hirst work from the Tate Modern current retrospective.
Damien Hirst- Tate Modern 30/4/12
Yesterday I decided to take the opportunity on the one sunny day that we have had in recent times to travel to London and view the Damien Hirst exhitbion at the Tate Modern in relation to my FMP project.
The direct reference to my own project was to look at at the piece called “Lullaby, the Seasons”(2002), in which Hirst created a ‘series of stainless steel cabinets containing facsimile pills’ each of which have been created to replicate actual pills and medication. The piece is making the association between the songs that are sung to children to lull them to sleep and the sellf-inducing effects of certain medicines and pharmaceuticals. This is a direct link to my own project in which I am exploring the use of pills within the fashion industry, whether that may be caffeine tablets, diet pills or class A drugs, and the effects that they have on the individual and industry.
The other part that I believed was relevant in reference to my own project was the installation ‘Pharmacy’ created in 1992. The extensive installation expands on the previous work based in medicine cabinets, with the piece aiming to create a pharmacy environment within a gallery space. The room is filled with hundreds of packets and bottles, all reminiscent of a pharmacy, which is an idea that I wish to bring forward into my own art in the from of creating a ‘designer pharmacy’. Hirst’s view “You can only cure people for so long and then they’re going to die anyway”, is something that I am going to consider when designing and building the concept to my FMP.
Aside from the two obvious collections that I wish to draw reference to, I took influence from his iconic ‘spot paintings’ and my favourite room within the exhibition, the butterfly replica stain glass works, which explore the butterfly motif as a symbol of beauty and the inherent fragility of life.
‘Heroin Chic’ is an era known within the 90’s publicised by people such as Kate Moss, and films such as Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction. It epitomises the idea that you have been out all week partying and have now just rocked up in lats night’s clothes and make up.
The look includes dark bags under the eyes, oversized clothing, sunglasses, while being waif and skinny. This relates directly to my FMP, exploring the idea of drugs abuse and use within the fashion industry. After looking further into ‘Heroin chic’ I have come across blogs and even web sites dedicated to tutorials to teach you how to get ‘heroin chic’ look. I am going to attempt this myself, photos to follow…
This is the comparison between the two. I am in the process of adding more studs to my shorts as I prefer that look but it shows just how simple and easy it is to recreate a similar look on any shorts of your choice.
My 3 favourite Ss- studs, stripes & shorts made by my own fair hands #summerlovin (Taken with instagram)
After seeing a similar pair in Topshop at the rather steep price of £65, I decided that there was a much cheaper way of recreating the shorts myself for well over half of the price. I purchased the studs in bulk for less than ten pounds and cut up an old pair of Primark shorts that cost me £2 and bingo, that was it. All I did was to attach the studs and it’s as simple as that, for a total cost of £12 and about 30 mins of attaching them.
Enjoy!
