AN artist is hoping to shed light on the taboo subject of death by displaying the fat that encases pigs' entrails.

Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva's eye opening artwork is currently on display at Fabrica in Duke Street, Brighton.

The 43-year-old, who was born in Macedonia, said she hoped the piece "raises questions" but admitted for some it is "very challenging".

She said: "The work is about death and dying and I wanted to elevate that to a different level.

"It's very challenging, once you realise what the material is, and it raises questions. The human itself is very fragile."

Entitled Fragility, the work uses caul fat, a membrane that surrounds a pig's internal organs.

It is a by-product of the pork industry and 98% of it is normally discarded.

Ms Hadzi-Vasileva, who now lives in Hove, added: "I deal with this subject matter quite a lot in my work so it's something I am very interested in.

"We shy away from talking about dying and it's taboo for certain people so I think it's a way of exposing something to the viewers and looking at death from a different angle.

"It depends how you approach it. Hopefully it will be very uplifting."

Lawrence Hill, from Fabrica, said the exhibition had been received "very positively" with a lot of discussion on social media.

He said: "Many people, on discovering what the material is, are torn between their initial reaction of its beauty and their response when they understand it's made of caul fat."

Fragility is one of three works around the topic of dying and death being exhibited at Fragility.

Mr Hill added: "This may be a less literal interpretation of that theme.

"It's like much of what we do - if you come into the space , it's an experience. How you respond to it in that moment is your own personal response.

"If people talk to our volunteers or read the interpretation they can see the different ideas behind it."

Following Fragility, there are a selection of smaller exhibitions up until September 21, after which the venue closes until April next year for building work.

This includes installing a window on the Duke Street facade to allow the public to see in from the outside.

Two officers will also be built a the back.

For more details visit fabrica.org.uk.