Make your own Damien Hirst spin painting on Snapchat using augmented reality

With the help of augmented reality, users can make their own versions of the British artist's colourful canvasses on their phones

Snapchat users can create their own spin paintings using an augmented reality tool on the app. Snapchat

Damien Hirst’s spin paintings from the 1990s, made with the help of a rotating machine, are filled with movement, life and colour. And now, anyone with a smartphone can make their own version with the help of augmented reality.

Snapchat has partnered with the British artist to launch a new lens where users can pour virtual paint on a spinning canvas to create their own artistic wheels of colour. The finished creations can be shared on the platform’s “Our Story” feature to be seen by other users.

The app has also teamed up with the NGO Partners In Health, a social justice organisation that provides support, including testing and contact tracing, to vulnerable communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic. When Snapchatters use the Damien Hirst lens, they can tap on an option that leads them to the Partners In Health landing page, where they can make a donation.

In a statement, Hirst said, “I'm so happy that this partnership supports Partners in Health, a brilliant and forward-thinking organisation that helps communities in developing countries around the world cope with the devastating impact of Covid-19.”

At the time of writing, the disease has infected more than 3.5 million people around the world, causing at least 247,000 deaths.

Last month, the artist shared a rainbow artwork tribute to the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which is free to download on his website.

The work Butterfly Rainbow is a vibrant digital collage of a rainbow with butterfly wings embedded into its arcs. A limited-edition print will be available for sale, with proceeds going to the NHS. Hirst has also teamed up with a food distribution campaign that helps send out food to vulnerable and poor communities in London.