Hirst was born in 1965 in Bristol, UK. Whilst studying at the Goldsmiths College, he made his art world dbut by participating in the independent student exhibition Freeze (1988). He then went on to become an acclaimed member of the Young British Artist movement of the 1990s and won the Turner Art Prize in 1995.

Death, life and art are central themes in Hirst’s work. His pieces takes diverse forms, from the aesthetic spot paintings, to the controversial series using dead animals such as sharks, sheep or cows (sometimes having been dissected), which are then preserved and displayed in glass cases filled with formaldehyde.

In August 2007, Hirst’s work For the Love of God, a platinum-cast diamond-encrusted human skull worth one hundred million US dollars, was exhibited at the London gallery White Cube and bought by an unknown investment group. He is known to be one of the most sought after living artists whose works reach unprecedented prices at auctions.

Photo: Sang Tan