Artist defends controversial 'poo-shaped' shelter

The structure has aroused both criticism and support

One of the artists behind a sculpture on a West Sussex nature reserve has defended it against accusations that it looks like a poo emoji.

The Periwinkle Shelter, on the Medmerry reserve at Bracklesham Bay near Chichester, has been created out of metal covered with willow branches woven into the shape of a periwinkle - a sea snail.

Artist Mark Antony Haden Ford says he has not taken the criticism on social media personally.

He told BBC Radio Sussex: "If it attracts more people, it can only be a good thing."

Mr Ford designed and created it with his wife Rebecca, at a cost of £6,000.

One social media commentator said: "I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it. I thought it was a joke at first."

Another said: "I find it inconceivable that at no stage during the design of this massive sculpture not one person put up their hand to say, 'excuse me, but it looks like a giant poo'."

Mr Ford said: "Art can be controversial and things can be ambiguous.

"I invite people to come down to the nature reserve, sit inside the periwinkle shelter and make their own view of it."

The structure provides shelter for people looking out across the RSPB reserve

The structure is part of the Culture Spark Project, a partnership between the district council, Chichester Festival Theatre and Pallant House Gallery.

Carolyn Cobbold, project leader for the Manhood Peninsula Partnership, an environmental group, said the locals had "completely embraced it".

"The spiral is a shape found in nature" she said, "found in periwinkles, and probably found in poos.

"Some people have been saying to me, 'if people see the shape of a poo, maybe that's a metaphor for what we're doing to our coastline, just allowing poo to be spilled into it'."

A spokesperson from Chichester District Council said: "This particular sculpture reflects the site's rich Bronze and Middle Age history.

"While the reserve was being created, archaeologists found periwinkles in the remains of an ancient medieval fish basket."

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