Damien Hirst: The Currency

Damien Hirst: The Currency
23 Sep 2022 – 30 Oct 2022
Newport Street Gallery
Newport Street
London
SE11 6AJ

Damien Hirst and HENI collaborate to present an exhibition of paintings from Hirst’s first NFT collection, The Currency, opening at Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery on 23 September – 30 October 2022. The Currency was launched in July 2021 as a collection of 10,000 NFTs corresponding with 10,000 original artworks by Damien Hirst. Collectors were given a choice to either keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical artwork.

During Frieze Week, Hirst will commence the burn by burning his own artworks. Following this event, the exhibition will remain open, and artworks will continue to be burned until the show closes on 30 October 2022. Timings of burns will be publicised in advance. The Currency Chronicles, a publication outlining the community experiences of the project’s first phase, will be launched during the exhibition.

The physical artworks were created by hand in 2016 using enamel paint on handmade paper. Each artwork is numbered, titled, stamped, and signed by the artist on the back. Additional authenticity features on the artwork paper include a watermark, a microdot and a hologram containing a portrait of the artist. On each artwork, no colour is repeated twice. The titles were generated through the application of machine learning to some of the artist’s favourite song lyrics. Damien Hirst views The Currency as a work of art in which people participate by buying, holding, selling, and exchanging the artworks.

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Damien Hirst: The Currency opens on the 23rd of September until the 30st of October, 2022 at Newport Street Gallery

©2022 Damien Hirst and Science Ltd, HENI, Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd