‘Anaesthetics (and the Way They Affect the Mind and Body)’ (1991) and ‘Stimulants (and the Way They Affect the Mind and Body)' are amongst Hirst’s earliest ‘Natural History’ works. Whilst originally shown separately, the pieces conceptually relate to each other.[1]

‘Anaesthetics’, one of Hirst’s earliest exhibited formaldehyde works, was included in ‘Internal Affairs’ – his first solo show in a public gallery at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in 1991. ‘Stimulants’ constituted the artist’s contribution to the group show ‘Louder than Words’ at The Cornerhouse, Manchester, the same year. It is the first example of Hirst placing animal bodies in tanks of liquid. 

‘Anaesthetics’ – two identically sized tanks filled solely with formaldehyde solution – illustrates the conceptual importance of both glass and formaldehyde to Hirst’s work. The glass boxes repeatedly employed by the artist act to define the art work’s space, whilst simultaneously commenting on the “fragility of existence”.[2] The glass, he describes as: “something dangerous and something to keep you away” – a material that you can see through despite its solidity.[3]

The formaldehyde itself is used as much to communicate an idea as to preserve.[4] The solution, extremely toxic despite its innocuous appearance, is associated with fear and memory, or the loss of it, for Hirst. He adds: “Sometimes I think you can create more of a kind of horror with empty water. A big empty tank of water is quite a frightening thing.”[5]

‘Anaesthetics’ and ‘Stimulants’ explore minimalism and realism. Hirst was to revisit these subjects in 1991 with ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’.