Damien Hirst Faces Allegations of Backdating Thousands of PaintingsBritish artist
Damien Hirst faces allegations of backdating thousands of paintings in his NFT art project, âThe Currencyâ. A recent investigation suggests that at least 1,000 of the 10,000 dot paintings were produced years later than the claimed date of 2016.
Launched in 2021, âThe Currencyâ featured 10,000 dot paintings where buyers had to choose between a physical painting or a corresponding NFT, with the unselected option being destroyed. Each painting was inscribed with the date 2016 and Hirstâs signature.
The project sold out quickly, generating nearly $90M and over 5,000 buyers chose physical paintings, while almost 4,000 selected NFTs, resulting in the destruction of its physical counterparts. In October 2022, Hirst and his team publicly burned almost half of the physical collection during an Instagram livestream.
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