Title: Theodora

Medium: Giclee print on aluminum composite panel 

Dimensions: 100cm x 100cm

Year: 2022

Description:

Damien Hirst’s Empresses Collection (2022) is a series of five striking limited-edition prints, each celebrating a powerful female ruler from history. Among them is Theodora, a dazzling artwork named after the influential Byzantine empress known for her intelligence, political acumen, and strength.

This piece, like the others in the series, features an intricate arrangement of butterfly wings—a signature motif in Hirst’s work—symbolizing transformation, beauty, and the fleeting nature of life. What makes Theodora particularly captivating is its surface, finished with diamond dust: a shimmering layer of fine glass particles that gives the work a jewel-like brilliance and luxurious texture.

Printed using high-quality giclée on aluminium composite panel, with a silkscreen glaze and diamond dust overlay, Theodora is both visually rich and materially exquisite. As a singular piece from the Empresses series, it stands as a powerful tribute to female strength and legacy, brought to life through Hirst’s contemporary lens.