The famous artist who decorated the Christmas tree with sausages

Since 2015 hotel Mayfair It was an invitation Artists To decorate a 30-foot Christmas tree and the famous artist Damien Hirst He is invited to set his own tone on the opening tree. His approach to decorations was as conceptual as you'd expect, with garlands of… snowman-shaped sausages, syringes and pills. Or, as the hotel elegantly put it, it “ceremoniously redesigned some of the medical equipment as well as the food.”

the Hurst This seemed an odd choice by the hotel, given its previous reputation as the terrible child of British art. He's embedded sharks in formaldehyde and covered a human skull with 8,601 diamonds, which isn't exactly Christmas, but he's always been wary of making art in public, so perhaps a Christmas tree was the perfect canvas.

himself Hurst He described the Christmas tree as a “celebration of companionship.” Under this guise, sausages and cereal can be generously interpreted as a celebration of Christmas extravagance. But this in itself has sparked controversy, given the tree's proximity to the hotel's adjacent Catholic Church, a homeless shelter that provides support for those suffering from drug addiction.

It was also reported that its installation upset local Jesuits. Wealthy residents of Mayfair had their own problems, with the Daily Mail receiving comments daily.

In contrast, the hotel believed that Hirst was inspired by “the sense of hope that comes from the power of science and medicine.” Not all of its 300 decorations were strange, so he decided to cover them with some traditional white doves: “a symbol of hope, beauty and fragility.” The controversy probably had the desired effect for Hirst, who clearly wanted to stir up controversy, but it is noteworthy that the hotel opted for a more subdued decor the following year, thanks to Sir Antony Gormley, who simply lit up the boot of his car.