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EARTH AIR FIRE WATER
The four bottles containing water and food colouring are
traditional pharmacist's symbols, representing the four elements,
Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
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Their symbolic value, which enabled people to recognise the pharmacy
before the days of mass literacy, can be compared to that of the
striped pole outside a barber's shop.
By placing these old-fashioned bottles in a contemporary pharmacy
setting, Hirst seems to be reminding us of the passing of time.
As he explains, despite its clean, minimalist lines and modern medicines,
this pharmacy will soon date: 'In a hundred-years-time
this will look like an old apothecary. A museum of something that's
around today'.
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