Artist who made 'disturbing' sculpture stresses that it's not intended to cause upset
An artist who has made a new sculpture for Canterbury, Kent, has stressed that it's not meant to upset people.
Canterbury has a new art installation called 'The Alluvia' which has taken inspiration from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, but some local residents wish it was not to be.
They've called it 'offensive' and 'disturbing', though the artist has insisted he never meant for that to be the case.
Award-winning artist Jason deCaires Taylor was commissioned by the Canterbury Commemoration Society to produce a work for the River Stour.
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The Alluvia is made from recycled glass and steel, and contains lights which illuminate it at night, but there is controversy because it's inspired by the Shakespearean character Ophelia, who dies from drowning.
The sculpture itself has in turn attracted criticism from some locals who say it looks like a 'drowning victim'.
About 15 years ago, Taylor had installed two similar statues in the river but over time they have become damaged, when he took a look to see if he could repair them, he decided he'd offer a replacement instead.
Charlotte Cornell of Canterbury City Council said: “Combining contemporary art with heritage is at the forefront of our approach to public art and Alluvia is the perfect piece for this location.”
The statue was put in the River Stour last week, but since then the council's Facebook page has had some complaints.
One man called it 'absolutely appalling' and 'downright disturbing', saying it was 'both morbid and utterly tone-deaf given the tragic drownings that occur along our coastlines'.
While someone else said it was 'deeply offensive' and wondered how the council did 'not see the link to women as victims of crime or the sad fact so many drown off the Kent coast as refugees'.
A third said that she was a nurse who'd treated someone who drowned in the River Stour and she'd been 'offended and saddened' by the art, while adding that her daughter 'would find this terrifying'.
The Alluvia did have its defenders as other local residents said they were 'looking forward to seeing it in person' and that it was 'marvellous', while one said that the people complaining 'don't know about art'.
The artist himself told Sky News that the vast majority of the feedback on his work had been positive, and urged people to go and see it before making up their minds.
He said: "I don't strive of my artwork to divide people or cause upset. But I do try to talk about issues that are pertinent and relevant to our current times.
"I was surprised… 99.9 percent of all the feedback that I've received has been very positive… But at the same time, I appreciate everybody takes something different from everything they see.
"Art should ask questions. They should make people think about things that should elicit emotions, that's really critical.
"If things were ignored and if you tried to please everybody with all your artwork, I think you'd make something very benign and quite frankly, pretty pointless."
Joe Harker