Together with contemporary art platform HENI Leviathan, Damien Hirst has launched a series of eight new cherry blossom prints titled The Virtues, taking the name from The Eight Virtues of Bushidō, where each print has been named after one: Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Honour, Loyalty, and Control.
HENI stated in a description, “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.”
What’s interesting is that, for the first time, Damien Hirst is open for cryptocurrency as a form of payment for the prints. The artist took to Instagram and explained, “It’s hard for any of us to trust anything in this life but somehow we manage it and we even find love and I love art and I love the crypto world and I am happy and proud to put my belief into Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) and accept them for this drop.”
The Virtues are available on HENI’s website for one week, but the number of editions produced will be limited by how many people apply. Those interested are able to purchase a complete set or specific prints only, however, purchases are limited to one edition per person. Each edition will be numbered and hand signed by the artist. Prices start at £3,000 (approx. $4,178).