Damien Hirst’s huge headless demon dominates the skyline of London’s Greenwich Peninsula

They say that wherever you go in London, you’re never more than four feet from a Damien Hirst sculpture (that’s a bit of a lie to be honest). Nevertheless, his works continue to flourish in the capital. Last year, we reported that the property developer dragon knight planned to install Hirst’s 18-meter-tall bronze sculpture demon with bowl (2014) by the Thames on the Greennich Peninsula. The massive headless effigy is now in place, towering above the Thames Cable Car and dwarfing the O2 arena. The gargantuan piece is part of Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Incredible series and was presented for the first time in the courtyard of Palazzo Grassi during the 2017 edition of the Venice Biennale. Hirst already has three works on the peninsula, Mermaid, The plunger And Hydra and Kaliwhich were installed in late 2021, making this part of town an assortment of Young British Artists (YBA) art.

Meanwhile, across the city, Hirst worshipers can see the artist’s dramatic depiction of St Bartholomew, one of the original 12 followers who was killed by being flayed alive, in London’s oldest parish church , St Bartholomew the Great, near Smithfield Market in the City of London. This year the Priory Church, affectionately known as Great St Bart’s, turns 900; Hirst’s polished gold version of the doomed disciple is in the south transept.

The church’s website points out that “the instrument in [the statue’s] hand is not a standard knife, but a scalpel, used in the hospital opposite which also bears the name of the saint”. Hirst’s take is a bit more prosaic. “I added the scissors because I thought Edward Scissorhands was in an equally tragic but difficult position,” he said. London’s dead Blog.