RT:
Damien Hirst’s retrospective exhibition at London’s Tate Modern drew nearly half a million visitors. Although it turned out there were heavy losses. The gallery says 9,000 butterflies died during a 23-week run of the solo show.
One of Hirst’s most important early creations, “In and Out of Love”, featured thousands of live butterflies, and was made up of two works shown from April 4- September 9.
In the humid upstairs room, tropical butterflies emerged from pupae attached to white painted canvases. Flowers and sugar water enabled them to fly, mate and lay eggs until they died. Hirst’s second installation featured monochrome gloss paintings with the bodies of dead butterflies fixed into the paint.
