AN ART gallery has been criticised for exhibiting a "disgusting" sculpture of Margaret Thatcher with a pig's head.

British artist Marcus Harvey is coming to the Jerwood along Hastings seafront and his work includes a piece about Margaret Thatcher that is courting controversy.

Lord Brett McLean, chairman of the 1066 Federation of Small Businesses and an Ambassador for Locate East Sussex, said: "This is, in my opinion, quite frankly disgusting, abysmal and disrespectful to the late Baroness Margaret Thatcher.

"The whole thing is awful - the best bit of the sculpture is the pig's head.

"Obviously the Jerwood Gallery is not interested in attracting children and family visits as the sculpture is ugly and scary to the younger generation.

"I just think personally it's hideous and I find it offensive. It is an ugly item aimed at disrespecting a deceased individual."

Mr Harvey will hold his largest UK public gallery exhibition yet from July 16 for three months.

The displays - entitled Inselaffe - will centre around his most recent work in ceramics which forges motifs and emblems of Britishness, such as military memorabilia and joke shop knick-knacks into collaged portraits of historical figures.

These range from Nelson to Margaret Thatcher and from Napoleon to Tony Blair.

‘Inselaffe’ means ‘Island Monkeys’ and was originally created as a derogatory, but light-hearted, term to describe the British.

Publicity for the exhibition admits it features 'tough but humorous sculpture, unapologetic and brash, political yet ambiguous,' reflecting Harvey’s concerns with subjects such as national identity and masculinity.

Jerwood Director Liz Gilmore said that the role of a gallery is to show art not to censor it, therefore allowing people to draw their own conclusions about what they are seeing – however challenging that might be.

She said: "Marcus said ‘I don’t want to produce work that is a pleasant distraction, then you move on to something else. I would actually like it to stop their day - to make it an encounter.’

"Margaret Thatcher is one of the most important female figures in British history and also one of the most important politicians; therefore it is wholly appropriate that she is featured in an exhibition that is all about the notion of ‘Britishness’ and our national identity.

"We’d urge people to come to Jerwood Gallery from 16 July when the exhibition opens and make up their own minds about the work."

The exhibition is part of the Hastings’ Root 1066 Contemporary Arts Festival.

Jerwood Gallery is a not-for-profit organisation, funded in part by the Jerwood Foundation. The Gallery opened to the public on March 17, 2012 and welcomes more than 40,000 paying visitors each year.