Damien Hirst is an English artist and sculptor, best known for his installation art. One of the Young British Artists who dominated the UK art scene in the 1990s, he pushed the art world into new and controversial territory with his hugely successful Natural History series, featuring a dead shark, a sheep, and a cow suspended in formaldehyde.

His work frequently explores the meaning of life and the fragility of biological existence. In 2007, he continued this theme with his recreation of a human skull in platinum and diamonds – a modern interpretation of the traditional memento mori, meaning ‘remember you must die.