Three giant vibrating jellybeans have been attracting attention in Brighton.
The shiny fibre glass beans have been displayed at the University of Brighton's gallery as part of its 2001 Japan season.
Gallery manager Colin Matthews said: "The beans illustrate Japan's attitude to the sex industry.
"There are very strict censorship laws in Japan which state sex toys must not look like body parts and this has led to imaginative shapes being designed and marketed for sex.
"The beans are an example of a giant prototype, aimed at making people think about the different ways sex is being packaged in Japan.
"The idea is people can sit across one and use a handheld control to make it vibrate and light up.
"It's symbolising the theme of pleasure for both the participant and the voyeur as people around the beans watch what is going on.
"The beans have been a source of great amusement to people, whether or not they were interested in the artistic meaning.
"Children had no idea about the message behind the art but had great fun playing with the jiggling beans. They saw it as a fairground ride."
The three, different-sized beans took up three square metres of space.
The largest pink bean was more than a metre-and-a-half long.
Mr Matthews said: "Each bean had a different type of vibration. The smallest one, the green one, had the strongest shake and was the noisiest.
"They were all driven by an internal component that looks like an orbital sander.
"The internal drive fixed to a metal plate was surrounded by an insulating rubber interface to spread the vibrations outwards.
"There was a lightbulb inside which flashed when the bean was activated.
"The hand-held control had a dial which people could use to vary the strength of the vibrations and the intensity of the light."
The beans will be visiting galleries around the country until next May as part of a national tour of Japanese art called Sex and Consumerism.
The next exhibition in the Japan season at the University of Brighton gallery starts on November 7 and features Manga comics.
The gallery's web site has more information on the schedule of events.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article