Immediate Response: My immediate response to this work would be shock if I were to see it in person. The white box and divisions in the box intrigue me, as don’t believe those are necessary for the design. The shark is a tiger shark, which I’m pretty sure are in the pacific islands. They are quite large and seem to be in the middle of an attack. There might be a feeling of danger when standing near it.
Objective Description: The work is a large box filled with formaldehyde. In this box is a large tiger shark with its mouth open. The box is split with three splits, and the entire outside is painted white. Inside there are structs that are used to get the box from breaking. The shark is fully intact and preserved, there seems to be no scars. The box is of a large rectangle shape, with space around the shark on every side.
Technical Decisions: The construction is very industrial, which is at conflict with the natural essence of a living creature. Thick steel and glass surround the embalmed shark. The shark sits at eye level, so it very hard to miss. It seems very static, which is obvious as the shark is dead. There isn’t a lot of showmanship, it is simply a dead shark in a tank.
The Work in the World: This work closely relates to aquariums, and how we have live sharks in sometimes very small tanks. Also the fact that he uses a real shark instead of a fake one is very interesting. It very much relates with death and the dead. The use of very industrial metals clash with the natural that is a shark.
The Story it Tells:
The name of the piece is The Physical Impossibility of Death int he Mind of Someone Living, so clearly Damien Hirst wants us to think of death in general. The shark, a creature usually perceived as violent and angry, is utterly still in the solution. He fires us to confront the fact of death. Death is inevitable, and eventually we will be as still and lifeless as the shark.