What are the ’Satellites’?

Damien Hirst’s Satellites (2022) is a series of sculptures investigating humanity’s fascination with outer space. Since sending one of his spot paintings to Mars in 2003, Hirst has gone on to explore cosmic themes through series such as Meteorites (2012-2014) and Cosmos Paintings (2021). With Satellites, he examines man’s attempt to comprehend the universe.

Each work is modelled on, and named after, actual satellites that have been sent into space, from ‘Hubble’ to ‘Sputnik-1.’ The sculptures are cast in bronze, creating intensely dark, looming forms. The sculptures create a tension between both old and new, placing the quintessentially modern innovation of the satellite in the distant past. By shrinking and historicising this monumental technology, Hirst grants the viewer a larger-than-life omniscience, as though looking at our own time from the future.

A selection of sculptures from this series is available on HENI Primary. Each work is made in an edition of three with two artist’s proofs and is signed, dated and numbered.