HENI and Newport Street Gallery are delighted to present Damien Hirst: The Currency exhibition.
The exhibition is open 10–6pm, Tuesday through Sunday, 23 September–30 October 2022.
The Currency, launched in July 2021, is a collection of 10,000 NFTs which correspond with 10,000 original artworks by Damien Hirst. Collectors were given the choice to either keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical artwork.
Every choice made – to keep the NFT, or keep the painting – had consequences. Collectors that chose to claim a physical artwork had to burn their NFT to do so. Similarly, those who chose to keep their NFT did so knowing that the physical artwork would then be destroyed. The exchange period closed on 27 July 2022 resulting in just over half the collectors (5,149) deciding to keep the physical artwork, and 4,851 to keep the NFT.
The Currency exhibition features all 10,000 artworks from The Currency with the 4,851 physical artworks that collectors chose to keep as NFTs being burnt gradually throughout the course of the exhibition.
During Frieze Week, Damien Hirst commences the burn by burning his own physical artworks. Following this event, the exhibition remains open and artworks continue to be burned until the show closes on 30 October 2022.
Burning of the remaining physical The Currency works happens on a daily basis between 12:30-1:30pm every Tuesday through Sunday. Visitors are invited to come to see the exhibition and physical artworks being burnt.