People say new Chichester sculpture looks like a poo

The periwinkle sculpture at Earnley Viewpoint at Medmerry Nature Reserve, near Chichester, is designed to imitate the tiny creature.

It was created by local artists, Two Circles Design, and is made from Sussex willow. The installation takes inspiration from the environment that surrounds it and features a cloud window silhouette of a marsh harrier, a bird of prey. A periwinkle is a type of sea snail.

It also reflects the site’s Bronze and Middle Age history, as periwinkles were found in the remains of an ancient medieval fish basket by archaeologists during the creation of the nature reserve.

But many people said the newly unveiled piece looks like the poo emoji and questioned how much it had cost.

The sculpture is the work of Culture Spark, a creative partnership between Chichester District Council, Chichester Festival Theatre and Pallant House Gallery. Culture Spark received funding from the government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, this was administered by Chichester District Council.

When asked about the criticism, Two Circles Design replied by sending two new pictures of the sculpture.

The periwinkle sculpture (Image: Two Circles Design) Readers were gobsmacked by the sight, with one reader saying “I think I might have trod in that this morning, I do apologise”.

Another said the sculpture “looks like a pile of poo” and said it was a “waste of money”.

Michael Older said: “Good heavens, what was the size of the creature that produced that?”

Konrad Langhamer said: “It must have been a really big dog that did that.”

Alan York said: “How much public taxpayer money funded the grant to make a statue of a dog's Richard’s?”

Kim Lyhne Andersen said: “What a load of sh*t.”

Denise Davies said: “Oh my God I thought we'd been invaded by giant cows.”

Mary Leach said: “Looks like something from a dog or a worm cast.”

The poo emoji (Image: Canva) Terry Stevens said: “Was that Southern Water?”

Mike Williams said: “It’s a poo emoji.”

Chris Edmonds said: “Someone is having a laugh here.”

Terri Allison said: “Nice poo.”

A spokeswoman from Chichester District Council said: “This was a community project funded by several partners and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is one of three pieces of public art that were commissioned for the RSPB Medmerry Nature Reserve.

"As part of the Medmerry projects we invited local artists to submit ideas for installations, which had to use natural materials and meet the brief of being closely linked to the specific installation sites. This also included running a series of community workshops, where members of the public made their own willow art, which was incorporated into the final sculpture.

"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. The sculpture also features a cloud window silhouette of a marsh harrier, a bird which frequents the reserve.

"The community project, including the sculpture and community workshops cost £6,000.

"These workshops received a really good response from the local community. Art projects like this are a great way to bring people together, connect with nature and share in the stories and history of their local area."