Norman Hirst: Sculptor of Decay and the Echoes of Mortality Norman Hirst, a name often whispered in circles devoted to conceptual art and the unsettling beauty of decay, remains one of the 20th century’s most provocative figures. Born in Leeds in 1862, his life was marked by a restless spirit and an increasingly morbid fascination with mortality – a preoccupation that would ultimately define his singular artistic vision. Hirst wasn't simply an artist; he was a chronicler of the ephemeral, a sculptor who wrestled with the uncomfortable truths of life, death, and the passage of time, employing…