The Art Newspaper

Hirst’s mini skull heads east

The new version—this time an infant's skull cast in platinum and pavé set with pink and white diamonds—will inaugurate Gagosian's new space in Hong Kong

By Charlotte Burns and Helen Stoilas. News, Issue 220, January 2011
Published online: 23 December 2010

Pink for a girl? Hirst's new pink and white diamond encrusted skull uses the head of an infant

As his £50m diamond skull, For the Love of God, 2007, goes on show at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, The Art Newspaper can reveal that Damien Hirst has created a new version—this time, an infant's skull, cast in platinum and pavé set with pink and white diamonds.

For Heaven's Sake (2008) is cast from an original baby's skull that formed part of a 19th-century pathology collection that Hirst acquired some years ago. It will form the centrepiece of Gagosian's inaugural exhibition, “Forgotten Promises”, at its new Hong Kong space (18 January-19 March).

Science Ltd, Hirst's main art-producing company, declined to comment on the price for the new work, so the question remains whether—since the baby's skull is smaller than the original sculpture—the price tag has shrunk, too.