Damien Hirst Accused of Copying Idea From Fellow Student For Breakthrough Work

Damien Hirst is facing renewed plagiarism allegations over his 1990 installation A Thousand Years, which critics claim closely resembles Fly-Piece by fellow Goldsmiths student Hamad Butt. Butt’s work, featuring live flies in a vitrine, debuted weeks before Hirst’s similar piece, sparking claims of idea appropriation. Curator Dominic Johnson asserts Hirst likely saw Butt’s prototype firsthand. Friends and tutors recall Butt’s frustration over Hirst’s acclaim. While Hirst has not commented, his career has weathered over a dozen plagiarism claims. The controversy resurfaces amid a retrospective of Butt’s work, prompting fresh debate over originality, influence, and recognition in contemporary art.