The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living is a sculpture produced in 1991 by English artist Damien Steven Hirst.
One of the most recognizable works of Britart, a true example of Contemporary and Conceptual art, even though the originality of idea and the artistic value of sculpture have been under discussion.
The sculpture was commissioned by Charles Saatchi, a businessman. Later it was sold to the famous art collector Steven A. Cohen. Shocking and effective sculpture is actually a tank filled with formaldehyde with dead tiger shark in it. Original shark was replaced due to decay. Title of the work is highly poetic and wide open to various viewers interpretations. It can be understood in a simple way, as a wordplay, but it can have also a deeper meaning. For the artist it is personal explanation of the idea of death. The fusion of verbally expressed and literally presented aspects of the same idea is what makes this sculpture undoubtedly a true piece of art.
The work cannot be viewed because it is in private collection of Steven A. Cohen.