A couple of days ago, a helicopter with a special load flew over the famous alpine resort of St. Moritz. The helicopter, in fact, carried a strange statue that was placed exactly in the middle of the lake of St. Moritz, at this time of the year completely frozen. 
This is the latest initiative signed by the irreverent English artist Damien Hirst. 

Entitled “Praying Monk,” the sculpture depicts a figure sitting cross-legged and covering his face with his hands completely covered by what appear to be corals and seaweed. 
The work, as Damien Hirst himself stated on Instagram, is part of his “treasures” series. 

«”Praying Monk” one of my treasures sculptures getting installed yesterday on the frozen lake in St. Moritz, Switzerland.»

It was 2017 when the Bristol-based artist presented the exhibition “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” in Venice at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. The exhibition brought together a collection of works, including statues and objects, found in the wreck of the “Unbelievable”, a ship that belonged to a collector who lived between the first and second century AD. 

The peculiarity of this project was that it was all fake. The ship, the collector and the works never really existed and all the pieces on display were made by Hirst himself. 

The arrival of the statue in St. Moritz was commented by the artist on his Instagram profile, which leaves us with a doubt, hinting that the fate of the work could be to return underwater. 

«[…] we have to get it off before it thaws! Otherwise it’s gonna end up at the bottom of the lake hahahahha now wouldn’t that be ironic ?»