He may be known as a deviation from the norm in the modern art scene, but some art buffs and parents groups think Damien Hirst may have gone too far with his latest creation: a baby skull encased in platinum and studded with more than 8000 pink and white diamonds.

The British artist's work, For Heaven's Sake, has been called offensive and deeply disturbing, because, as the head of parenting group Netmums puts it, there is so much heartache around the death of a child.

The skull is said to be a two-week old that Hirst obtained as part of a 19th century pathology collection.

This isn't the first time he has used a skull in his artwork.  In 2007, his piece For The Love of God showcased an adult skull encrusted with more than 8600 diamonds including a $6.5 million pink diamond set in the forehead. It became the largest commissioned diamond piece and was worth $100 million. The skull is currently on display at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.  It has been called "an anthropomorphized disco ball" and "the vulgar embodiment of modern materialism." Hirst himself calls it "quite bling."

He says he was influenced by the use of skulls in ancient Aztec art.  Get Stuffed, a taxidermy business, provided Hirst with the first skull.   As for his use of diamonds, Hirst says they are beautiful but can also be evil.

"Diamonds are about perfection and clarity and wealth and sex and death and immortality. They are a symbol of everything that's eternal, but then they have a dark side as well."

For Heaven's Sake is the central piece of a new exhibit of Hirst's paintings and sculptures opening at the Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong in January.
The British artist is known as a controversial sculptor, with one of his first works of art featuring an installation with a rotting cow's head.  He has since gone on to create pieces that include pickled sharks and dissected sheep.  

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