In 2017 Damien Hirst unleashed a massive exhibit in the midst of the Venice Biennale. “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” was so enormous that it took up two entire exhibition spaces, Palazzo Grassi and Punto della Dogana, covering 5,000 square meters in total. The vast collection, after over 10 years in the making, represented Hirst’s take on an Ancient Greek legend. The wreck of a massive cargo ship, called “the Unbelieveable”, left valuable treasures in the ocean, which were drastically changed by nature over time. Photos throughout the exhibit show the sculptures in the deep sea, where they had been left to collect barnacles and other natural growth. Plain copies of some figures were situated directly next to the final, sea-worn displays, emphasizing the bold changes that time and nature placed upon them. The artist’s use of familiar images and iconic characters, from Mickey Mouse to Die Antwoord’s Yolandi Visser, made the atmosphere truly fantastic and strange.
