The Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great sits in West Smithfield in the City of London, quietly confident in its near 900 year history as the oldest church in London and reputedly boasting an interior displaying one of the last remaining examples of Norman architecture.

It’s not uncommon for a church to have a sculpture or painting providing some glimpse of the particular saint to whom it has been dedicated but St Barts currently has a more recent addition, that of Exquisite Pain by the artist, Damien Hirst. Among the centuries old pillars and walls, stands an arresting figure of gold. Bartholomew, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, was flayed alive and the statue depicts a figure standing, holding aloft a scalpel or craft knife while draped over its arm like and old coat is the skin that until recently, protected the body.

It is an unsettling image not least because of its visceral content but also because of the quality of the depiction. The bright, garish gold finish is more reminiscent of some frivolous point of sale material of the sort you might find in a shopping centre. Considering the surroundings, it also has a sense of something that has been attacked by vandals like a traditional stone or brass statue spray painted gold or even some bright graffitti that has taken upon itself the virtue of three dimensional form.

In this, past and present come crashing together in a collusion of intent and acceptance. It becomes a somewhat difficult marriage of form and tradition but one that defies your ability to look away.