Damien Hirst to Build a Chapel Shaped like a 30-meter Hand with a Phone

The popular conceptual artist Damien Hirst's exhibition «The Light That Shines» opened at the Château La Coste art complex on March 2, 2024. It presents about 90 works of the artist, including famous cubes with preserved animal corpses and shiny sculptures of Mickey Mouse. The show will last until June 23, 2024, reports Artnet.

Château La Coste, near Aix-en-Provence, where Hirst's exhibition is hosted, has long served as both a hotel and an art destination. The current exhibition marks the first instance of a single artist occupying the complex.

In Renzo Piano's pavilion, Hirst's most renowned works are displayed, such as preserved animal bodies in formaldehyde. Another hall, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, showcases «Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable» — coral-encrusted treasures from an ancient shipwreck off the coast of East Africa. The exhibition also features paintings from the «The Secret Gardens Paintings» series. In the open space, the artist has installed a 6-meter bronze sculpture called «Temple,» resembling a male torso from biology textbooks depicting muscles and organs. Among other works, visitors can see «Charity,» depicting a broken charity box.

Château La Coste owner Paddy McKillen is interested in exhibiting finished works and creating new sculptures for his park, which already houses works by Louise Bourgeois, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Tracey Emin, and Sophie Calle. At McKillen's request, Hirst has designed a 30-meter bronze chapel in the shape of a hand.

«I designed this arm as a sculpture. It was based on a hand holding a mobile phone. But it was a bit like Christ’s fingers. And then I thought, it’s like a spire. It was Paddy’s idea to put steps inside it so you could go up it,» the artist explained. The project's unveiling is scheduled for 2025.
 

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