Damien Hirst|In A Spin

'In A Spin' is where Hirst's spin paintings became printmaking, and it pushed etching close to its limits. Instead of pouring paint onto a rotating canvas, he fixed copper plates to the machine and drew into them as they spun, using needles, screwdrivers and other sharp tools. The work went on for days and came close to performance. The action of the world on things The full title, 'In a Spin, the Action of the World on Things', borrows a phrase Hirst first used in 1999 to separate two strands of his work: an involvement with death and decay, and a strand of ideas, life and colour. The concentric rings were prompted by a long-exposure photograph he had taken of the night sky, in which the stars trace circles as the Earth turns, and Volume II includes that photograph. The spin can be read as the planet's own rotation, recorded on a plate. Songs in the grooves Many of the titles are borrowed from pop songs, from 'I Get Around' and 'Twist And Shout' to 'Spin Me Right Round' and 'How To Disappear Completely', and lyrics appear on many sheets. The fine concentric lines also resemble the grooves of a vinyl record, a nod to Hirst's long involvement with music. Each etching is a flat sheet of Hahnemühle paper, but the plate's scored and bitten lines give it the raised relief of intaglio. At auction Complete volumes set the level for the series. Both volumes together, each numbered 15, fetched $76,200 (roughly £61,300) at Phillips New York in April 2023, the top price of the past five years. On its own, a complete Volume I with its 23 etchings and painted cover realised £50,062, premium included, at Bonhams London in June 2019. Before and after 'In A Spin' was Hirst's second portfolio with The Paragon Press, after the screenprints of 'The Last Supper' (1999), and the one in which he turned to etching. The press later turned his skulls and butterflies into large photogravures, gathered in Memento (2008). The spin itself returned to his prints two decades later in H12 - The Beautiful Paintings (2023), now as giclées on canvas taken from spin paintings.