Hirst's pickled sheep is turned into a black joke
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A black face sheep pickled in formaldehyde and suspended in a glass tank - the latest sculpture by Damien Hirst, enfant terrible of the art world - was given new meaning yesterday when a visitor to the Serpentine Gallery in London poured black ink into the tank and altered the caption to read 'Black Sheep'.
The motive was unclear: animal rights activists seemed a possibility. After all, they are thought to have commented on Mr Hirst's work before: when his tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde and a rotting cow's head infested with maggots were shown at the Saatchi Collection in London, admittedly along with other works, someone left unnaturally large amounts of 'dog mess' outside the gallery.
Michael Grieve, a freelance photographer at the Serpentine as the vandalism was discovered, said: 'Someone had put black ink into the container. It went completely black. You could see the sheep
disappear. There were a lot of visitors there. Everyone was bewildered and highly amused. People were laughing.'
Jay Jopling, the artist's dealer, said: 'The top piece was not sealed. You don't expect that to happen.'
Julia Peyton-Jones, the gallery's director, thought the sculpture was not beyond repair.
The collector, who bought it for some pounds 25,000, has been told.
Andrew Graham-Dixon, page 25
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments