The Currency is one of Damien Hirst’s most ambitious and conceptually significant projects, examining the relationship between art, value, ownership and the systems that underpin the contemporary art market.
Launched in 2021, the project comprises 10,000 unique hand-painted works on paper, each featuring Hirst’s distinctive coloured spots alongside individual titles and identification numbers. Each physical artwork was initially paired with a corresponding NFT, creating a deliberate dialogue between the traditional physical artwork and digital ownership.
The project questions what ultimately gives an artwork its value — the physical object itself, its provenance and authorship, or the digital record representing ownership. In doing so, The Currency reflects Hirst’s longstanding interest in challenging established ideas surrounding art, commerce and collectability.
Each work is unique, with variations in the hand-painted elements making every example individually identifiable.
Artwork Details
Artist: Damien Hirst
Title: The Currency
Year: 2021
Medium: Household gloss paint on handmade paper
Edition: Edition of 10,000 unique works
Dimensions: 21 × 30 cm
Signature: Signed
Documentation: Heni COA
Condition: Mint
Framing: Heni double sided frame.
Please contact the gallery for further information regarding the individual work, provenance, documentation and framing.
