Damien Hirst Burns Artworks After Collectors Pick NFTs (Tokens) Instead
NDTV
Damien Hirst started burning hundreds of his artworks after collectors chose to keep their non-fungible tokens (NFTs), instead.
Britain's Damien Hirst started burning hundreds of his artworks on Tuesday after collectors chose to keep their non-fungible tokens (NFTs), blockchain-based assets representing their digital images, instead.
Hirst, who found fame amid the 1990s Young British Artist scene, launched his first NFT collection "The Currency" - 10,000 NFTs corresponding to 10,000 original artworks depicting colourful spots - in July 2021.
Collectors had to choose between keeping the NFT, which reportedly sold for $2,000, or swapping it for the physical artwork. Some 5,149 picked the latter while 4,851 opted for the NFTs, according to London's Newport Street Gallery.
It said artworks for non-exchanged NFTs would be destroyed and vice versa. Hirst told his Instagram followers on Monday he would burn 1,000 artworks on Tuesday.
