Why a renowned artist is burning his own masterpieces
Artist Damien Hirst has begun burning hundreds of his own artworks after his latest collection prompted the buyer to either choose the physical work or the NFT representing it.
Those who chose to buy the NFT, or virtual version, of the artwork were told their corresponding physical piece would be destroyed.
Asked how he felt about burning the works, Hirst said, "It feels good, better than I expected."
The artist himself burned each work individually, with the estimated cost of the works being burned equated to almost $18 million (AUD).
Live-streaming the event, the Turner Prize winner and assistants used tongs to deposit individual pieces stacked in piles into fireplaces in the gallery as onlookers watched.
"A lot of people think I'm burning millions of dollars of art but I'm not," Hirst said. "I'm completing the transformation of these physical artworks into NFTs by burning the physical versions.
"The value of art, digital or physical, which is hard to define at the best of times will not be lost; it will be transferred to the NFT as soon as they are burnt."
Hirst launched his first NFT collection last year, called The Currency, which was made up of 10,000 NFTs, corresponding to 10,000 original pieces of art, forcing buyers to choose what medium they would receive.
According to London’s Newport Street Gallery, 5,149 buyers opted for the physical works while 4,851 chose the NFTs.
Hirst’s works will continue to be burned until The Currency exhibition closes on October 30th.
Image credits: Getty Images