Damien Hirst: The Currency

'The Currency' is a collection of 10,000 NFTs which correspond with 10,000 original artworks by Damien Hirst. Art collectors were given the choice to either keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical artwork.At the close of the exchange period in July 2022, 5,149 collectors decided to keep the physical artworks, and 4,851 the NFT. The physical artworks linked to the retained NFTs and reproductions of the destroyed NFTs were displayed in Perspex screens suspended in the gallery space. The physical artworks were then publicly burned in furnaces at the exhibition.Published in association with Newport Street Gallery with an exclusive release on the occasion of the Hirst’s exhibition to conclude the series, The Currency book features 332 of the 10,000 artworks as well as installation shots of the final exhibition, prefaced by an interview between Hirst and British actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry.

Damien Hirst (b. 1965) rose to fame in the late 1980s as a leading member of the group that became known as the Young British Artists (YBAs). He is now internationally recognised to be one of the most important living artists. Through a varied practice of installation, sculpture, painting and drawing Hirst explores the complex relationships between art, beauty, religion, science, life and death. He lives and works in London and Gloucestershire.