Hell, by Jake and Dinos Chapman, was a diorama consisting of thousands of plastic miniature figures of Nazis, depicting scenes of torture and mass killing, laid out in nine glass cases in the shape of a swastika. The epic work took more than two years to construct. It was purchased by Charles Saatchi for £500,000 and said to be one of his favourites.
It was one of several works destroyed destroyed in the Momart warehouse fire on Monday May 24th, 2004, which destroyed millions of dollars worth of art by Gillian Ayres, Patrick Caulfield, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Barry Flanagan, Chris Ofili and others.
The fire coincided with another problem for the Chapmans: "We're having a bit of a disaster in the studio," Dinos told the Guardian at the time. "There's a flood. We've had fire and flood and now we are expecting pestilence."
He added: "If the insurers decide the fire is an act of God it's going to be quite funny - that God destroyed Hell. In fact if that happens I will start going to church."
A decade later Momart approached the pair about contributing to their series of artists' multiples as Christmas Greeting Cards (see previous posts), as they had with other artists they had worked with, including those who lost significant works in the fire.
"We didn't have to think very hard," Dinos said, "What else could we do but come up with the idea of a Zippo lighter with the word Momart on it?”
Their proposal was rejected by the art handling service company, and a variation (commemorating the remake of Hell, now titled Fucking Hell) was self-published and available from the artists' website. It has subsequently sold out.
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