H9-2 Courage
Artist and date
Damien Hirst, 2021
Dimensions, materials and tecniques
120 x 96 cm Laminated Giclée print on aluminium composite panel.
Description
This artwork is part of set of eight cherry blossom prints by Damien Hirst named "The Virtues" published by HENI Editions. The eight prints are each titled after one of The Eight Virtues of Bushidō according to Nitobe Inazō – Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Honour, Loyalty, Control. In 1900 Nitobe Inazō published a book, Bushidō: The Soul of Japan, which narrates for Western audiences the samurai code of ethics known as Bushidō. According to Nitobe, Bushidō literally translates to ‘Military-Knight-Ways’ and lists the ways in which fighting Japanese nobles were expected to maintain themselves in their daily and vocational lives. In Nitobe’s account this code is divided into eight virtues, which are responsible for customs such as the tea ceremony and behaviour like tranquillity even in the face of danger. Nitobe has stated his intention was to unveil the cultural similarities between Japan and the West, effectively concluding ‘that there are no East or West as far as human beings are concerned’. Referencing Impressionism, Pointillism and Action Painting, the Cherry Blossoms are about the spontaneous joy of spring. For the first time, both HENI Leviathan and the artist Damien Hirst accepted cryptocurrencies for payment of editions, payments can be made by either Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH), as well as by credit or debit card. This particular artwork was purchased using BTC.
Provenance, literature, exhibitions & events
Private Collector, Bought with BITCOIN, London, UK. Certificate of Authenticity hand signed by Damien Hirst (n°718/760, HENI Editions 2021).