Pharmaceutic Wall Painting, Five Blacks, 1993

This large-scale edition is part of Damien Hirst’s series of Spot Paintings, which are central to his oeuvre. Characterized by a systematic arrangement of uniformly sized, vibrant dots of color in a grid pattern, the dots are meticulously applied in a precise, serial manner, creating a sense of order and repetition. Visually, they evoke the appearance of pharmaceutical pills and thus fit within the artist’s larger body of works related to pharmaceuticals and medicine cabinets. The works explore themes of perception, mechanization, and the relationship between art and science, while also serving as a commentary on the industrialization of art. The serial nature of the paintings reflects Hirst’s fascination with systematic categorization and the impersonal, almost clinical nature of modern life, drawing parallels between the repetition of the dots and the regulated, often repetitive processes within the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

About these works, Hirst has said: “My Spot Paintings are a scientific approach to painting, much like the scientific approach of pharmaceutical companies to life. Hence the title of the series, The Pharmaceutical Paintings.” Further, the artist has explained, “art is like medicine – it can heal. Yet I’ve always been amazed at how many people believe in medicine but don’t believe in art, without questioning either.”