In direct line with the "Sanctum" series, themselves following the artist’s large butterflies collage gloss paintings, by means of the "Psalm" series Damien Hirst aims once again to capture the beauty, to seize and fix the ephemera. Adopting the gestures of an all-mighty collector, he meticulously arranges and composes each wing to a better effect. Ad te, Domine, levavi accompanied by its evocative title recalls the infinite precision, the penetrating light, the dangerous fragility as well as the mesmerizing colours of Cathedrals’ and churches’ stain glass windows. The butterflies as if frozen in time upon a pale blue and sparkling background, seem to be on the threshold of life and the heavens. Undoubtedly, Ad te, Domine, levavi calls to mind the mandala patterns, which are meant to be destroyed after their contemplation in order to symbolize the impermanence of the contemplated phenomenons. Damien Hirst tackles the evident ambiguity between the preserved perishable body and its uncertain resurrection.
“ I like the confusion you get between science and religion … that’s where belief lies and art as well. „