10 Questions for Damien Hirst

Eleven galleries around the world are filled with your paintings of spots. Why?

I was at one of Larry [Gagosian]'s galleries, and he has the names of artists on display at his 11 galleries printed on the wall. I thought, Wouldn't it be cool if it was all just my name? You know, I'm the only artist in the world with a series that could fill all his galleries. It was just a perverted megalomaniacal idea.

How many spot paintings are there?

Approximately 1,500 at the moment, which seems like a lot, but I think it works...