Death at Auction

Famously, Damien Hirst worked in a morgue as a teenager. Now the artist obsessed with remains of the dead—human skulls, preserved sharks—has collaborated with Deyrolle, the famed Paris taxidermy shop, on a cabinet of curiosities available through Paddle8. Pairing selections from the Deyrolle collection with his own pieces and industrial products like Raid insecticide, Hirst’s cornucopia makes sense in a darkly ironic way—here is death, and here is the artificial cleaner that will kill anything organic that might be left.

The sale will be available on Paddle8 October 14 through October 28. Proceeds will benefit Hirst’s charity, Victim, as well as Deyrolle’s program for natural science education and conservation.