UK NEWS

A DIAMOND SKULL... YOURS FOR £50M

Saturday June 2,2007

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ARTIST Damien Hirst has unveiled his very latest creation – a £50million diamond-encrusted skull.

The work, called For The Love Of God, is the most expensive piece of modern art ever produced.

Hirst, 41 – notorious for pickling a shark in formaldehyde and displaying a cow and calf cut into sections – has entirely covered the 18th-century skull in 8,601 diamonds. He hopes the British Museum will display it.

Buyers have already app-roached the White Cube Mason’s Yard gallery in London about snapping up the work.

It went on display there yesterday, surrounded by heavy security in a darkened room.

The skull, which is thought to have belonged to a 35-year-old European man who lived at some time between 1720 and 1810, is the centrepiece of an exhibition of new work by the artist.

Hirst bought the skull from a shop in Islington, north London. Teeth from the skull, which took more than 18 months to convert at a cost of £14million, have been set in a platinum cast.

The diamonds, worth £12million, are said to have been “ethically sourced” from conflict-free zones.

A huge, pear-shaped, pink jewel, which Hirst has named the Skull Star Diamond, is mounted on the centre of the forehead and is surrounded by 14 white stones, also pear-shaped.

Multi-millionaire Hirst said: “I hope that it makes the people who see it feel good, that it’s uplifting, that it takes your breath away. It works much better than I had imagined. I was slightly worried that we’d end up with an Ali G ring.

“I’ve stopped worrying about what art is. If it’s in an art gallery on the wall or the floor it’s probably art. There’s art, there’s great art, there’s bad art, there are many different art worlds.”

Hirst said his was “timeless”, about “wealth against death” and “decoration against death”.

He added: “The diamonds go underneath, inside the nose. Anywhere you can put diamonds, we’ve put diamonds. I wouldn’t mind if it happened to my skull after my death.

“It will be sad if it ends up in a vault. I’d like to loan it to the British Museum. Neil MacGregor (the museum’s director) came and had a look. He likes it. He’s looking for a space.”