The Ministry of Artistic Affairs
Monday, August 29, 2011

Shauna Taylor, the model who got a Damien Hirst-designed butterfly permanently tattooed on her most private area for the cover of Dasha Zhukova's Garage magazine, says she has no regrets becoming part of Hirst’s body of work. “I love it,” Taylor told us, adding, “I would have been stupid not to be part of this project. I have a piece of art on my vagina. Not one single person can ever say they gave birth through a Damien Hirst piece of art. I can [if I ever give birth].”

A London-based illustrator, Taylor, 23, got involved through an ad. Tattoo artist Mo Coppoletta was handpicked by Hirst to ink the green-and-black tat. “It’s a part of the body you can’t reach well,” he said, and it took two sessions to complete from Hirst’s design. Did it hurt? Says Taylor, “I was hoping it might feel kind of nice, but it was probably the worst pain I have felt. I thought I was going to pass out.” Taylor met with Hirst -- who didn’t sign the piece -- to show him, and also threw a garden party with friends to celebrate.

The finished “product” was then photographed for the cover of the debut issue of art philanthopist and socialite Dasha Zhukova’s provocative new art magazine Garage, which has already drawn bans from WHSmith even though to see the offending region in question, you have to peel off a sticker affixed to the cover.

From the NY Post and Arrested Motion.