Opinion is divided over whether the latest work of art on show in Brighton is, in fact, art.

Temporary Accommodation is a collection of abandoned cupboards, chairs and suitcases built into a room-size block.

The Phoenix Gallery describes the work, by Hastings-based artist Sonja Wyndham-West, as "an architectural installation" which "mirrors the experience of the marginalised and nomadic urban dweller."

Others, however, see it as a pile of old junk.

Ms Wyndham-West, 56, says the piece springs from her own background.

"As a child I moved around a lot and I lived in a hotel for a while so I think I am very aware of the sense of temporarility. Also, living in Hastings, I'm aware of the many itinerant people there.

"But it's also about the human condition in general. We are only here for a short period of time."

Most of the chairs, divans and bedside tables in the piece have been retrieved from second-hand shops.

"It's the kind of low-budget stuff you find in bedsits. Some of it had just been abandoned."

Ms Wyndham-West will underline the temporary theme of her exhibit by regularly changing the display.

"Things are constantly shifting and changing and I want to reflect that."

She will also be exhibiting a cityscape made of timber and chicken wire.

She said: "I'm an architectural installation sculptor. I make sets in which people can experience things.

"Temporary Accommodation is almost like recreating a house and I will cut into it and open doors so people can circumnavigate it.

"The cityscape is about the feeling one gets in a big city, of being hemmed in and trapped and never sure what is around the next corner."

Ms Wyndham-West is prepared for comparisons with controversial artists like Tracy Emin, who was praised and pilloried for her work which came complete with dirty sheets and used condoms.

She said: "When I showed my work in Hastings, the public reaction was very good. I'm hoping people will be surprised and will inquire about how they react to the spaces they live in."

Ms Wyndham-West's work goes on show from May 3 to 25 at The Phoenix Gallery in Waterloo Place.