THE artist responsible for a sculpture likened to dog excrement by residents has defended his work, saying that criticising it now is like “reviewing a new car before it was painted”.

As previously reported, Longacre residents were left feeling underwhelmed by the £24,000 sculpture unveiled on the Kennel Farm housing estate, describing it as like “random sticks stuck in dog excrement”.

Linden Homes commissioned artist Michael Dan Archer to create the piece of public artwork in 2016, which was approved by the borough council despite objections from numerous residents and councillors.

Cllr Rebecca Bean raised concerns with the safety of the design if children attempt to climb on the structure, while Cllr Diane Taylor described it as “an incongruous eyesore”.

Linden Homes has faced a backlash from residents since the artwork was unveiled, with many complaining that while money has been spent on the sculpture, their roads are unfinished.

The housing developer said the sculpture provides a “place to sit and contemplate”.

Now, sculptor Mr Archer has hit back at the criticism, telling the Gazette that the sculpture is “exactly as selected by the original committee and is part of a wider scheme of landscaping and tree planting that the sculpture will sit in and interact with”.

He said criticising it prior to the landscaping being complete is like “reviewing a new car before it was painted or the engine was installed”, adding: “At present the sculpture is waiting for the landscaping, planting, and surfacing all around the sculpture to be installed by the developers of the site. Once set in and responding to this landscape it will be complete”.

The artist, who has more than 30 years’ experience producing public artworks, said the sculpture took six months to create, and said he made “very little money” because Linden Homes refused to increase the budget, despite him costing the project four years’ ago.

He said: “The developers postponed it for four years and revived the project but wouldn’t increase the budget. So, it was made with a budget that was set in 2016 despite costs having gone up. So, I made very little money on it.”

The artist had to fork out to pay for a crane to lift the sculpture and transport it on a lorry to Basingstoke.

He explained that the steel bars are designed to rust to “a certain point” and are then sealed with a chemical to prevent them rusting further.

He hopes the response from residents will be “more positive” once Linden Homes completes the landscaping, saying: “As the developers have not completed work generally on site the scheme and the setting of the sculpture is not complete. I would imagine that residents’ response will be more positive once the overall design for the site is complete.”

He added: “The developers are slowing things down and the site is not complete.

“There are symbolic things within the sculpture for example the circle represents the planet and the lines can represent trees or people. It’s done in a simple and classical way. The vertical bars echo things happening in the trees and the circle will relate to the lines on the ground.”

Mr Archer said his work does not often receive a negative reaction, adding: “Some of my sculptures have become a destination which people visit. Generally, my sculptures are liked. But because this one is sitting in a muddy field it’s difficult for people to appreciate it at the moment.”

Linden Homes has been asked for a comment.