Another day, another DONDA. As we’re gearing up for the album’s new potential release set for August 20, Kanye West has taken to Instagram to share an image of Damien Hirst‘s sculpture The Incomplete Truth from 2006. Fans are speculating that the image could potentially be the new cover for the upcoming album, as we’ve already seen a handful of imagery tied to the record.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSsa9tkn9fe/
The work from Hirst features a white dove suspended in formaldehyde, reflecting a central concern of the artist’s Natural History works as well as the idea of, “That failure of trying so hard to do something that you destroy the thing that you’re trying to preserve.” Valued at over $1 million, The Incomplete Truth could also be Kanye West’s most recent art acquisition.
The first DONDA album cover was shared by West himself as early as July 2020, but was never shared anywhere but Twitter. Earlier this year when conversations around the album resurfaced, the new artwork featured a painting by Louise Bourgeois, and has since been changed to an old photograph of the rapper’s mother (also pictured on merch from the listening party).
DONDA album cover for Kanye West features artwork by Louise Bourgeois pic.twitter.com/WbJLI7yHnT
— Everette Taylor (@Everette) July 23, 2021
Lil Yachty, who features on the album, took to Twitter to respond to fans sharing the latest imagery, saying, “this not the album cover though.” As of now, the Apple Music pre-order is not giving us any clues, as the image is still just a black square.
The DONDA album cover is perhaps a bigger mystery than the release date itself, which is currently set for August 20, with another listening party reportedly taking place in Chicago on the 26. Stay tuned as the saga continues, and fingers crossed the album will finally see the light of day.