The Damien Hirst exhibition “New Religionˮ at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska was organised in association with the British Council and Paul Stolper Gallery in London, and it is the first time this artist has shown his work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is a special honour for the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska to be a part of this great exhibition project, which continues its journey, after it was first shown in London in 2005, followed by some of the most prestigious museums and galleries in Great Britain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Norway and Poland, to now focus on Southeastern Europe.

The fact that Damien Hirst’s “New Religionˮ is being shown at the MSURS is evidence that our museum is ready and willing to stage major international exhibitions, as part of its efforts to present to the general public the latest dominant trends in contemporary art, with a programme offering exhibitions, professional training and other activities. This chance to present Damien Hirst’s art, which bridges gaps between languages and cultures as it generates communication and creates universal symbolic values within the scope of contemporary art, is a special privilege for both the professional team of the MSURS and our visitors, for whom this is the first opportunity ever to see work by someone who may freely be said to represent today’s most controversial and intriguing artist.

Hirst’s “New Religionˮ sets us thinking about four things that matter about human life – religion, love, art and science, which are merely instruments that help us find our own path in life, according to the artist. Exploring these universal themes, Hirst sets religion against science in his exhibition, involving them in a discussion, in the roles as typically perceived by people. This debate is on the one hand mindful, intimate and warm, in the spirit of religious and metaphysical connotations, and analytically cold and off-putting on the other, as influenced by the atmosphere and emotions connected to the medical profession.

Pointing out the fact that the contemporary way of life, as increasingly influenced by pharmaceutical industries, has slowly suppressed the religious sentiment toward life intended to dull our sense of mortality, Hirst produces a new kind of iconographic synthesis that can be interpreted from a number perspectives, depending on the cultural environment in which his art is shown. Pharmaceutical industries are starting to form a new basis for the spiritual framework; the goal of science is to redefine the notion of religiousness; meanwhile, art is modelling a new, rational, modern and pragmatic thinker, open to all challenges of contemporaneity. Essentially, this exhibition, intriguing and controversial in many respects, positions art as a new religion, and museums and galleries as new houses of worship, whose mission is to attract as many followers as possible.

This exhibition was made possible thanks to the professional assistance and generous support of the British Council Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paul Stolper Gallery, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska and the City of Banja Luka, for which the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska owes them a debt of gratitude.

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