"The Miraculous Journey": World-Famous Artist Unveils Enormous Pro-Life Sculptures in the Middle East

Will Maule : Nov 26, 2018
Faithwire.com

"Art's about life and it can't really be about anything else. There isn't anything else." – Damien Hirst

(Qatar) — [Faithwire.com] A series of enormous sculptures created by acclaimed British artist Damien Hirst have been unveiled outside Qatar's new $8 billion hospital. The pieces, erected beside the Sidra medicine hospital in Doha, show the development of an unborn baby from conception to birth. (Image source: Twitter via Sobore)

"The Miraculous Journey" depicts a fetus growing in the womb, before the series comes to fruition in the form of a 14-meter (46-foot) newborn baby. The astonishing sculptures, which have been covered up since their initial unveiling in 2013, have sparked controversy across the Muslim-majority nation.

"You know culturally, it's the first naked sculpture in the Middle East… It's very brave," Hirst said of his work, according to Doha News. "I suppose the cultural differences are a bit difficult. You know in England, there wouldn't be a problem with a naked baby, you see the embryo and the egg and sperm."

Concerned about the potential fallout, officials reportedly rushed to arrange for a young boy to recite a passage out of the Koran which addresses the formation of life.