The series was inspired by Inferno, which was written by Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The poem is part one of his most famous work, Divine Comedy, and describes Dante’s journey through hell. It was written during the 14th century and Hirst’s interest in it shows his fascination with death. He has said “[Death is] just something that inspires me, not something that pulls me down.” When he was only 16 years old he would go to the anatomy department of Leeds Medical School to draw cadavers and has been intrigued with skulls for a long time.