Fig.9 Saint Peter, 2005

Damien Hirst’s edition Fig.9 Saint Peter (2005) presents a single capsule isolated against a stark white background. The capsule, with its dark red and cream-colored halves and printed markings, is depicted with the clinical precision of a scientific illustration, while the title transforms an ordinary pharmaceutical object into a religious reference. As part of Hirst’s New Religion series, the work brings together two systems of belief that recur throughout his practice: medicine and religion. The capsule becomes both a symbol of modern medicine and a contemporary relic, suggesting the parallel forms of faith placed in scientific and spiritual forms of healing.