Schools Activities
Mortality
(Key Stage 3 / 4)
The activities in this section are divided into three topics which
use quotes by Damien Hirst as their starting point. The quotes have
discussion points and possible practical activities that may arise
from discussion.
These are quotes from an interview with Damien Hirst. The audio
is on this website:
Quote 1
'The names of the drugs in the cabinets
conjures up a vision of human misery and dread - with all the drugs
there comes a reference to a particular sickness along with a list
of side-effects. One drug, on the packet, for example carried a
big warning - it said blurred vision, change in colour vision -
these were all the side-effects you could have, so it said like
a warning - you think the drugs are perfect and they're used to
heal you and do everything they say - I've got a headache so I'll
take this.'
What do you think about this idea?
Do you think we are led to believe that medicines are perfect and
will heal everything?
Do you think we only see the good things in medicines and ignore
the bad things, the side effects?
Why do we take medicines if they have side effects?
You could choose to stage a debate about the pros and cons of pharmaceuticals.
Quote2
'Yeah well, we all die, so this kind of
big happy, smiling, minimal, colourful, confident facade that medicine
and drug companies put up is not flawless - your body lets you down
but people want to believe in some kind of immortality.'
Have a look at the packaging for the medicine. How does this kind
of packaging differ from, say, soft drinks or washing powder?
Damien Hirst calls it minimal and believes it is supposed to inspire
confidence in the consumer. Do you agree?
What do you think of when you look at the packaging of these medicines?
Is anything else packaged this way?
Do you agree that taking medicine is some kind of an attempt at
immortality?
Do you believe that we are so afraid of our own mortality that we
will do anything, believe anything, take anything to prevent death?
As a result of this discussion you could design a packet for a particular
medicine. Damien Hirst believes the minimalist packaging is part
of the illusion of the medicine. Design some packaging that undermines
that illusion. What would it have? Images? Bold colours? Flashy
designs?
Quote 3
'people have confidence in [medicine].
Because I had a confidence ...in art that comes from God knows where
- I was thinking I like this and I like the way it works, I like
the way it brightens people's lives up, the way that people believe
in it, but I was having difficulty in convincing the people around
me that it was worth believing in. And then I noticed that they
were believing in medicine in exactly the same way that I wanted
them to believe in art and they weren't doing it.'
Can art heal? What do you think? Have you ever listened to a song,
or read a book, or seen a painting that made you feel better about
yourself or the world?
What is the purpose of art?
Should it inspire you to think differently?
Should art try to talk about everyday things and ideas? Is it good
to question everyday things in the world?
Should art make us think about things we don't want to face?
Art often asks questions.
Are there any questions or issues you would like to address through
art? What form would your artwork take - a sculpture, painting,
installation, photograph? Why have you chosen that form?
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