Intern Pick: The Sacred Heart (2005), Damien Hirst
Written by Sophia Plancich
November 6, 2024
In the Lowe Art Museum's Tobin Galleries of Contemporary and Modern Art resides Damien Hirst’s The Sacred Heart sculpture. This multimedia sculpture—a silver cast of a bull’s heart, pierced by sharp metal instruments like razors, needles, and barbed wire—conveys a jarring intensity. My immediate reaction is one of empathy as if the pain embedded in this work is both visual and emotional. Seeing the heart, a symbol of life and vitality, transformed into something cold, metallic, and violently punctured prompts me to reflect on what might have inspired such a piece.
The Sacred Heart is part of Hirst’s collection New Religion, which delves into the relationship between science, art, and religion. This work, like many in the series, explores taboo themes and the complex intersections between spirituality and suffering. Hirst challenges the viewer to confront these themes through symbolic, often unsettling imagery.
In researching this piece, I found a photo on Hirst’s Instagram of another heart from the New Religion series. His caption described attending a Catholic primary school named Sacred Heart, where, he noted, “the nuns could be quite violent.” While he hasn’t directly stated a connection between these memories and his artwork, I can’t help but wonder how such an upbringing—with religious figures wielding both authority and occasional harshness—may have shaped his perception of sacred symbols and informed his art.
Through The Sacred Heart, Hirst seems to question the place of the sacred in today’s world, especially by using Catholic imagery interwoven with symbols of violence and oppression. Barbed wire and needles appear to represent harm inflicted upon a traditionally revered symbol, the heart. Throughout history, the heart has often been used as a sacred emblem, particularly in Catholicism, where the Sacred Heart of Jesus symbolizes God’s love and mercy—a love said to conquer suffering and sin. Hirst’s scultpure might reflect the complexities of these ideals. While I don’t draw any definitive conclusions, exploring these themes has enriched my understanding of how Hirst’s choice of imagery can invoke reflection through contrasting emotions of reverence and pain.
Hirst, a multidisciplinary British artist, has continuously grappled with provocative themes since his early career in 1990s London. While he has shifted towards painting in recent years, The Sacred Heart remains a striking contribution to the Lowe’s Tobin Gallery. Even without knowing the artist’s background or intentions, the piece conveys a sense of suffering, hardened over time by the cold, unyielding nature of metal. For me, The Sacred Heart embodies a kind of haunting resilience—a stark reminder of the powerful, often painful complexities that lie beneath symbols of faith and love.
References:
“Dove’s Wings and Bull’s Heart” (n.d.) Moco Museum. https://mocomuseum.com/info/doves-wings-and-bulls-heart
“Sacred Heart of Jesus: A Symbol of Love and Mercy” (2017). Franciscan Media.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/st-anthony-messenger/sacred-heart-of-jesus-a-symbol-of-love-and-mercy/
“The Sacred Heart, 2005” (n.d.) Hiscox Group. https://www.hiscoxgroup.com/sacred-heart-2005
