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Damien Hirst, In This Terrible Moment We Are All Victims of an Environment That Refuses to Acknowledge the Soul, 2002, UAB 190Pillenregal aus der Sammlung Brandhorst
Damien Hirst

In this terrible moment we are victims clinging helplessly to an environment that refuses to acknowledge the soul, 2002

Information about the artwork

  • MaterialVitrine: stainless steel and glass; Pills: synthetic resin, bronze, and plaster
  • Dimensions238.7 x 873.7 x 10.1 cm
  • Year of acquisition2002
  • Inventory numberUAB 190
  • On viewCurrently not exhibited
  • Copyright© Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2022. Photo: Haydar Koyupinar, Bavarian State Collections, Munich

More about the artwork

The extraordinarily long title of this work by Damien Hirst already points to its gigantic dimensions. More than 27,000 pills are lined up on a mirrored medicine cabinet, carefully placed side by side at predetermined angles. Contemplating them also means risking a look in the mirror: do we believe that we, too, can treat every illness and every ailment with a suitable pill? This work is not only an impressive illustration of the increasing pathologization of our society—it is not without reason that we now refer to depression or burnout as diseases of civilization—but also of the fact that modern science and medicine have taken the place of religion in our culture.

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