Damien Hirst says he considered pickling human corpses after famous shark artwork

Artist has two new exhibitions taking place this year

Hirst with his artwork, titled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (Getty Images)

Damien Hirst has revealed he once considered placing human corpses in formaldehyde after his famous artworks using a shark and a sheep.

In an interview with The Guardian, the English artist was asked why he had never progressed from animals to “pickling people”.

“I flirted with the idea,” he responded, explaining that he had considered getting a male and female corpse, cutting them in half and fitting their sexual organs together.

Hirst was apparently influenced by Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of the anatomy of human copulation.

However, he said that he preferred working with a “neglected thing like a sheep, which is meat – you’re thinking why am I feeling empathy?”

“That’s a great thing because you should. Because it’s not just meat,” he continued.

During the pandemic, Hirst created a rainbow from butterfly wings to express solidarity and support, as part of The Independent’s Help the Hungry campaign.

Hirst’s Mental Escapology exhibition of over 40 works is currently being held across five locations in St Moritz.

His Cherry Blossoms exhibition of paintings is being held at the Fondation Cartier in Paris on 1 June.