“I wanted a shark that’s big enough to eat you, and in a large enough amount of liquid so that you could imagine you were in there with it.”

—Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst’s 1991 sculpture entitled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living is arguably his most recognisable work, and an icon of contemporary art. Presenting a real-life shark suspended in formaldehyde, the work explores themes of life and death in Hirst’s quintessentially controversial fashion, challenging the viewer’s perceptions, fears, and even the nature of art itself. The viewer, alive and curious, is invited to walk around the glass case, examining the preserved body of this once-deadly predator. Stripped of its natural power, the shark appears frozen in time, but its gaping jaws and exposed teeth retain a moment of fury.  Hirst confronts us with this paradox: the shark is dead, encased, and harmless, yet still invokes primal fear. Few people have ever seen a shark in person, but through this work, they come face-to-face with both the terror the predator evokes and the unwavering inevitability of death.

The title, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, encapsulates the work's most profound paradox: for those who are alive, death is an abstract concept, something we can contemplate but never fully grasp. The presence of the shark, preserved yet lifeless, serves as a stark reminder of death's inevitability and brutality, juxtaposed with the viewer's own living experience. By presenting a once-living creature in a clinical, preserved state, Hirst blurs the line between life and death, forcing viewers to come to terms with the reality of mortality in a highly visceral way.

“I didn't want to make art you could ignore.”

—Damien Hirst

The present lenticular print presents an image of the original work, with the infamous tiger shark suspended in its vitrine, bathed in aqua-green formaldehyde. The lenticular image adds an additional layer of separation between viewer and subject. As the viewer shifts position, the image shifts too, lending a sense of movement to the otherwise still creature. The illusion of depth created by the print transforms the static image into something more dynamic, making the predator seem almost alive once more.

The original sculpture of The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living was first shown in the 1992 Young British Artists exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. The shark, caught off the coast of Queensland, Australia, was initially preserved in a solution that began to degrade, leading Hirst to replace it in 2006 with a new specimen, this time using improved conservation methods. This replacement sparked debates about authenticity, with some questioning whether it was still the same work. Hirst, however, maintained that the concept, not the material, is what truly matters: “It’s the same piece. But the jury will be out for a long time to come.” Despite these controversies, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living remains a powerful reflection on mortality. Exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2007 to 2010, it has inspired a series of Hirst’s works involving formaldehyde and dead animals. This ongoing investigation into life and death is central to Hirst’s artistic vision, urging us to confront our own mortality while gazing at death’s silent, suspended form.