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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Steven Morris

Earth Goddess statue in Cornish town sparks unholy row with church leaders

Ceramic artist Sandy Brown with a section of her sculpture Earth Goddess before its installation in St Austell.
Ceramic artist Sandy Brown with a section of her sculpture Earth Goddess before its installation in St Austell. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

Since its dramatic appearance in a Cornish town centre, Earth Goddess, the tallest ceramic sculpture in the UK (and possibly the world), has provoked its fair share of controversy, with unkind critics condemning it as a gaudy piece of junk more suited to the land of the Teletubbies.

But the row has taken a religious twist after a group of church leaders wrote to St Austell town council claiming it was “offensive to God” and calling for the brightly coloured 11.5-metre-tall piece to be rebranded or removed.

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