Few artists have had such a notable and lasting impact on modern culture as Damien Hirst, a man who has dipped his toes into everything from music video direction and taxidermy (of a sort) to boutique restaurants. Now, Hirst is set to become a restaurateur for the second time with the launch of Pharmacy 2, which he of course designed himself. This marks his second foray into the world of swanky London restaurants, following the Notting Hill, London-based Pharmacy, which was open from 1998-2003 and was designed by Universal Design Studio, the interior design arm of Barber & Osgerby.
Pharmacy 2 is situated in Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall, which opened last year, and was designed by Caruso St John. The Newport Street Gallery is the realisation of Hirst’s long-term ambition to share his art collection with the public. The site features pieces from his personal art collection, with the inaugural show set as “Power stations,” a solo exhibition of paintings by John Hoyland. Inside the restaurant, Hirst has applied an atomic and pharmaceutical aesthetic, which harks back to his iconic Pharmacy work for the early 90s. The original restaurant was famously frequented by celebrities like David Bowie and Kate Moss, but in 2003 it closed its doors after public opinion soured and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society complained that the establishment was deceiving people into believing it was an actual pharmacy. Hirst has evidently learned from such mistakes in the last 13 years.
The space hits the artist's trademark balance between cynicism and playfulness, with bar stools as pastel coloured pills, while graphics of tablets have been applied to furniture and walls, which also feature the logos of pharmaceutical brands. Above the bar, a neon “Prescriptions” sign hangs, and with it a series of molecular structures, which are echoed in backlit wall panels. The bar itself (constructed from stainless steel and glass) is a thing of real strange beauty, whilst DNA strands are depicted on glass windows, and more colourful designs have been embroidered in the seating booths.
Damien Hirst (left) and Mark Hix (right)
“Pharmacy 2 combines two of my greatest passions; art and food”
The lighting, in contrast to the vibrant colour elsewhere, is quite stark, emphasising the pharmaceutical feel, which also extends to a feature wall with shelving for drug boxes and bottles. All of the other walls are covered by a silver-coloured wallpaper with a chart of pills and pharmaceutical products first produced for the original Pharmacy restaurant. Each section of the wallpaper features a pharmaceutical image, along with a title and a reference to a Biblical passage. The windows, meanwhile, are covered with dark-coloured translucent vinyls.
The restaurant is a collaboration between Hirst and chef Mark Hix, and is set to open next Tuesday (February 23). A number of Hirst's site-specific works will also be exhibited throughout the restaurant, including the artist's Medicine Cabinets from 2010 and butterfly Kaleidoscope paintings. Hirst said of the venture: “Pharmacy 2 combines two of my greatest passions; art and food.” Of his collaborator, he added: “I've always loved Mark as a chef and his approach to food, so it's great we're working together on this.”
But what of the menu? Well the head chef has been confirmed as Kevin Gratton, and some of the dishes confirmed thus far include a sweet potato and squash curry, lamb and turnip pie, fish and chips, and linguini with crab. So surprisingly free of pretension! Hix said of the menu: “It’s not going to be completely British. The ingredients obviously will be. We’ll do some classics, and it’ll be a weekly-changing menu. I work a bit like an artist in that sense, what’s a good idea one minute is not necessarily a good idea the following day.” Sounds like it could either be a recipe for disaster or a genuinely unique dining experience, either way, colour me intrigued!
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
