Damien Hirst: Seven works for Yorkshire sculpture festival

The Virgin Mother by Damien Hirst Image copyright Damien Hirst and Science Ltd
Image caption Damien Hirst was a Turner Prize winner in 1995

Damien Hirst is to show seven of his sculptures as part of a festival in Yorkshire.

Works by the artist are to be displayed in Leeds where he grew up and at Wakefield's Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

They are to form part of the Yorkshire Sculpture International (YSI), which is staged between June and September.

"I'm so happy to have my work in and around Leeds. When I was growing up in the city, the Leeds Art Gallery was my way into art," Hirst said.

The contemporary artist's works include a shark, a sheep and a cow in formaldehyde, and a skull covered in more than 8,000 diamonds. He was a Turner Prize winner in 1995.

Image copyright Anton Corbijn
Image caption Damien Hirst was born in Bristol in 1965 and grew up in Leeds

Hirst grew up in Leeds, went to school in the city and studied at Leeds College of Art in the early 1980s.

"It's a double excitement for me that there'll be sculptures in the town as well as the gallery," he said.

"The giant bronze sculptures at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) are where they belong - they're just made for that setting."

Image copyright Damien Hirst and Science Ltd
Image caption Myth is to be displayed at YSP

Damien Hirst sculptures on show

Jane Bhoyroo, of Yorkshire Sculpture International, said: "One of the aims of YSI is to engage a mass audience through sculpture and Damien's works will play a key role in achieving this."

The free festival will last 100 days and feature public commissions in outdoor spaces and exhibitions at Henry Moore Institute, The Hepworth Wakefield, Leeds Art Gallery, and YSP.

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