Damien Hirst’s Brit Award statue design

Hirst is the third artist to take on the trophy since the statue was redesigned as part of the Brit Awards rebrand by Manchester-based consultancy Music in 2010.

We might have been hoping for a Britannia trophy encased in formaldehyde or encrusted in diamonds, but Hirst’s polka dot theme is well suited to the iconic trophy, creating – literally – a modern piece of ‘pop art.’

For the 2011 Awards, Dame Vivienne Westwood designed a Britannia statue with ‘Stop Climate Change’ marked on the base, while last year Sir Peter Blake styled a trophy that harked back to the 1960s album art that made him famous.

Hirst has produced more than 1000 spot paintings over his career, including his famous Pharmaceutical Paintings, and is considered to be the world’s richest living artist with an estimated wealth of over £200m.

Hirst says, ‘I am honoured to be asked to design this year’s statue, it has become such an iconic award, I love the Brits’.

This year’s awards are presented on 20 February at the 02 Arena in London.