Damien Hirst
Dettol, 2014
Dettol bottle, wooden plinth, white pen
9 2/5 × 7 1/10 × 3 9/10 in. | 24 × 18 × 10 cm
Unique
signed (on plinth)
POA
Unique work by Damien Hirst. Dettol is perhaps one of the most versatile of cleaning fluids, since it can be used as an antiseptic for cuts and wounds, as a...
Unique work by Damien Hirst.
Dettol is perhaps one of the most versatile of cleaning fluids, since it can be used as an antiseptic for cuts and wounds, as a floor and surface cleaner, and even (until recently when it was found to be detrimental to the ecosystem) as a form of pest control. The brightly colored cleaning products, with their Pop-art style lettering and childishly pleasing forms, are employed by the artist as a symbol of contemporary society’s utopian aspirations, Hirst explains: "they give us hope, some might say false hope, they seem to say that we can achieve immorality through cleanliness, that we can somehow make the bad things in the world go away, which of course we can’t."
Hand-signed by Damien Hirst in white pen on the wooden plinth.
Dettol is perhaps one of the most versatile of cleaning fluids, since it can be used as an antiseptic for cuts and wounds, as a floor and surface cleaner, and even (until recently when it was found to be detrimental to the ecosystem) as a form of pest control. The brightly colored cleaning products, with their Pop-art style lettering and childishly pleasing forms, are employed by the artist as a symbol of contemporary society’s utopian aspirations, Hirst explains: "they give us hope, some might say false hope, they seem to say that we can achieve immorality through cleanliness, that we can somehow make the bad things in the world go away, which of course we can’t."
Hand-signed by Damien Hirst in white pen on the wooden plinth.