Damien Hirst at Static – Briefly

Some thought it was a hoax, some thought it may be a stunt to draw the crowds away from the Vito Acconci viewing at FACT. Others thought it was all a bit silly, especially after they’d visited the gallery. But, lets be honest, if you have a Damien Hirst print to show off you have to do something different, its an event rather than an exhibition.
‘One Night Only’ features one work from Hirst’s acclaimed ‘Romance in the Age of Uncertainty’ series, originally shown at London’s White Cube Gallery in September 2003. This original acquisition forms part of the Static collection, a new initiative by the Static organisation.
So it was 1 work for 1 night and only on show for 1 hour from 19.00-20.00.
I got there at 19.00 having ran up the road from FACT and there was a small crowd outside waiting for the doors to open. The picture was in the centre of the far wall with a security guard on either side and a camera crew in the centre of the room filmimg the whole event. The layout was such that people had to form a line and slowly file past the picture as if it were the Mona Lisa. And that’s it, all you can do then is stand back and watch the people walking past the picture, then you watch the people watching the people…
I’m not sure what the picture is, looks like a lot of blood pouring into a phial. Not very exciting but I’m glad I was there. You can see the picture on the Static website