George Michael's cash cow

23-07-2007 07:30

George Michael has bought a dead cow wrapped around a pole for £3.5 million.The 'Fast Love' singer and boyfriend Kenny Goss are big fans of the controversial artist Damien Hirst and splashed out on his piece of artwork entitled 'Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain'.The installation features the body of a black calf pierced by dozens of arrows and attached with cable to a steel post, set in a tank of formaldehyde. The artwork is based on the story of the martyr Saint Sebastian, whose biblical story inspired the 1976 homo-erotic film 'Sebastiane'.'Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain' is Hirst's fourth most expensive piece of art.The artist's priciest piece of artwork is currently 'Death Explained' - a dead shark split in two which sold for £10 million to an anonymous buyer.A pill cabinet entitled 'Lullaby Spring' sold for £9.6 million and 'God Alone Knows', featuring three dead sheep sold for £6 million.