Join The Collection to save, track, and explore works like this.

Shepard Fairey & Damien Hirst — Fallen Star (Butterfly Mandala)

Fallen Star (Butterfly Mandala)

2025

Fallen Star (Butterfly Mandala) is a luminous and symbolically dense collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Damien Hirst, fusing Hirst's iconic use of real butterfly wings with Fairey's bold propaganda-inflected graphic sensibility in a work that oscillates between transcendence and entropy. The mandala structure — a form drawn from Eastern spiritual traditions representing the universe and cyclical wholeness — is built from actual butterfly wings set in household gloss, while Fairey's spray paint and collage layers impose geometric order and graphic tension atop the natural, irregular beauty of the specimens. The title introduces a note of cosmic melancholy: a fallen star suggests both a celestial event and a diminishment, a beauty that has descended or been extinguished, which resonates powerfully against the transience encoded in the butterfly as a universal symbol of transformation and mortality. Fairey's OBEY aesthetic, rooted in the power of repeated imagery and bold contrast, collides productively with Hirst's biological materiality, creating a work where nature is simultaneously revered and co-opted. The result is one of the collection's most spiritually and visually ambitious pieces, asking whether patterns — cosmic, natural, or political — can offer consolation in the face of inevitable decline.

Medium
Butterflies, household gloss, spray paint and collage on canvas
Dimensions

For Sale

Start the Discussion

Request access to join the discussion

Collectors of Shepard Fairey

Also spotted by

About this work

Shepard Fairey & Damien Hirst, Fallen Star (Butterfly Mandala), 2025

Fallen Star (Butterfly Mandala) is a luminous and symbolically dense collaboration between Shepard Fairey and Damien Hirst, fusing Hirst's iconic use of real butterfly wings with Fairey's bold propaganda-inflected graphic sensibility in a work that oscillates between transcendence and entropy. The mandala structure — a form drawn from Eastern spiritual traditions representing the universe and cyclical wholeness — is built from actual butterfly wings set in household gloss, while Fairey's spray paint and collage layers impose geometric order and graphic tension atop the natural, irregular beauty of the specimens. The title introduces a note of cosmic melancholy: a fallen star suggests both a celestial event and a diminishment, a beauty that has descended or been extinguished, which resonates powerfully against the transience encoded in the butterfly as a universal symbol of transformation and mortality. Fairey's OBEY aesthetic, rooted in the power of repeated imagery and bold contrast, collides productively with Hirst's biological materiality, creating a work where nature is simultaneously revered and co-opted. The result is one of the collection's most spiritually and visually ambitious pieces, asking whether patterns — cosmic, natural, or political — can offer consolation in the face of inevitable decline.

Medium
Butterflies, household gloss, spray paint and collage on canvas
Dimensions
213.4 x 213.4 cm
Year
2025
Seen at
HENI, London, United Kingdom

Related themes

Ornamental Pattern, Mixed Media, American Contemporary, Nature Inspired, Contemporary Era, Bold Energy, Street Art Movement, Butterfly Subject, Eclectic Style, Vibrant Colors

More works by Shepard Fairey

Collected by

Alex Capecelatro, Hamilton Selway Gallery