Sculptor starts work on protest piece inspired by The Scream

SOMETIMES things happen that just make you want to scream.

For Natasha Houseago it was the development of a house directly opposite her own which she says has robbed her and her family of sunlight.

But while the majority of people keep their frustrations to themselves, the professional sculptor is using her artistic talents to show the world her displeasure – by carving a giant sculpture inspired by Edvard Munch's The Scream.

The 45-year-old, who lives in Chapel Lane, just off Bath Road, has started work on her sculpture, erecting a 9ft by 1ft piece in her garden. It is the garden where she always works but the "bohemian backwater" she used to call home is not the same after what she describes as a "garden grab" development.

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Dispute

A two-storey home has been constructed opposite Natasha's house where a garage used to be – the result of a long running planning dispute.

"The house that is there now is much higher than the garage was," she said.

"What we loved about Chapel Lane was that it was sort of a bohemian backwater and I have always worked outside – I always work in the yard because it is south facing and gets sunshine.

"But now we get no sun in the afternoon at all. It is all gone from about 1pm.

"Personally it is huge because we only have a small house and we spend a lot of time outside but now we have to go off somewhere else in the afternoon to find some sunshine.

"Some people are happy to stay indoors a lot but we are very much an outdoor family.

"Our garden is very precious to us.

"To have this go up outside has robbed us of our sunshine and robbed us of our quality of life. It has had a big impact."

Natasha hopes to have her Scream-inspired sculpture finished in three weeks.

Once it is completed she is hoping it will go on show at The Parabola Arts Centre in December.

The artist, who was resident sculptor at Cheltenham Ladies' College in 2011, lives in Chapel Lane with her husband Andy and seven-year-old daughter Elia. She said: "I am doing a direct carving inspired by Edvard Munch's The Scream which I think is a fantastically powerful painting. I think it sums up how our family feels about this development.

"We love living here. It is our little space of light and that has been taken away. It feels abhorrent. For me the screaming figure evokes the feeling of not being heard, not having a voice."

One of the four versions of Edvard Munch's The Scream was sold at Sotheby's in May of this year for just shy of $120 million (£75,557,000).

It is the most anyone has ever paid for a painting at auction.

OPINION, P8