famous people

Damien Hirst is one of Britain's most successful living artists. A member of a group known as the Young British Artists (if you wish to find out more about them, take a look at http://www.answers.com/topic/young-british-artists)

he attracted attention in the late 1980s with his shocking installations and wild lifestyle. Much of his work is about death and decay. In 1990, he created the installation A thousand years, which showed insects and worms feeding off the head of a dead cow in a glass case. Born in Bristol on 7 June 1965, Hirst left school with few qualifications. He won a place at Goldsmith College for an art course on his second try. His phenomenal success in the past 20 years has, in part, been the result of support from the British art collector Charles Saatchi. You can read his biography at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/2124645.stm

In 2000, Saatchi paid one million pounds for one of Hirst's sculptures. Hirst, who is married with two sons, lives in Devon. He is currently working on what will probably be the most expensive piece of art ever created: a skull in platinum set with 8,500 diamonds. "I want people to see it and be astounded," he said.

Here is one of his installations for you to ponder on. By the way, it is called The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991).