28” x 36” - oil & latex paint on panel with cellophane

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The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living originally commissioned by Charles Saatchi and created by Damien Hirst shocked the art world in the early 1990’s. Because of some mistakes made during the initial embalming in 1991, the dead shark was literally rotting in the tank. Legend has it that Hirst tried to restore the piece by placing the shark’s skin on a fiberglass replica but ultimately wasn’t happy with the result.

In 2004, nearly a decade and a half after this piece came to be, the shark was sold to Steven Cohen (who now owns the NY Mets!). At this point, a second shark was hunted, re-embalmed and of course, re-ignited criticism and debate.

This piece is gross on several levels but nonetheless takes a legitimate spot in the long line of art history and does raise the question of whether value lies in the original work or the original intention.

My pin is a simple homage to Hirst’s forgotten first shark.