AS one of Britain's most prominent modern artists, Grayson Perry has received more than the odd complaint from the country's established cultural critics.

And now the cross-dresser, who won the Turner Prize in 2003, is feeling the wrath of visitors to Hereford Cathedral.

Mr Perry, who was awarded a CBE for services to contemporary art, is one of a number of artists included in the "Mapping Inspirations" exhibit now on display.

The works, which opened to the public earlier this month, see contemporary artists "respond" to Hereford's world-famous Mappa Mundi.

Mr Perry's piece entitled "Map of Nowhere" faces the Mappa Mundi and, according to the artist, plays with the idea of there being no heaven.

The multi plate etching also features swear words and another artist admitted it has "already caused some outrage and letters of complaint".

But Ledbury's Andrea McLean, whose own work stands alongside Mr Perry's said she was "very much on the side of the artist".

"I felt sad that the work was being, as I see it, misunderstood by some early visitors," she told the Hereford Times.

Mr Perry claims people are wedded to the idea of a neat ending and our rational brains would love to tidy up the mess of the world and to have either Armageddon or Heaven at the end of our existence.

But, as he explains in information displayed underneath the print, "life doesn’t work like that - it’s a continuum."

The work, like the Mappa Mundi, takes a circular form with Mr Perry's head at the top and his arms and legs heading off to the sides.

Within the space reserved for his body are various terms – with some containing very strong language.

Obscenities like c**t and a**e are clearly visible while a house labelled as Oxbridge sits next to a group of abandoned children.

The National Trust are placed within part of the map classed as nature alongside a hosepipe ban.

Internet dating and casino capitalism are other terms used while "doubt" is at the very centre of the work.

"The basic formal design came from a German Mappa Mundi called the Ebstorf map, which was destroyed in the Second World War," Mr Perry explained in the information alongside his print.

"It showed Jesus as the body of the world. My daughter often accuses me of setting myself up as God so I made the lakes and rivers into my body. The whole idea of alchemy and a spiritual body fascinates me."

Stephen Davidson was one visitor who was less than impressed.

The 49-year-old from Gloucester said: "It was a surprise to see something questioning whether there was a heaven in the Cathedral. I think he is just trying to shock people for the sake of it."

The Revd Canon Chris Pullin, Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral, said people from all over the world, of many faiths and of none, respond to the Mappa in all sorts of ways, giving visitors plenty to think about as we see this unique document through the eyes of others.

"Although the Mappa is a medieval Christian artefact it does contain many images that come from pagan classical culture and from further afield, so has always presented a wide and generous view of the world and of ideas about it.

"Grayson Perry's response to the Mappa is his own personal take on things.

"Displaying his Map of Nowhere is not an endorsement of ideas he seems to express within it, but an opportunity for all of us to see what a significant contemporary artist has produced as his own Mappa Mundi.

"We are free to agree or to disagree with the take on life it expresses, but that's true of the Mappa Mundi too.

"We have had many appreciative comments about the exhibition, and some people have made a special effort to visit in order to see the works on display.'

And Dr Rosemary Firman, the Cathedral Librarian, added: "The exhibition includes works by five established artists – Genevieve Belgard, Charlie Calder-Potts, Ewan David Eason, Andrea McLean and Grayson Perry – and 14 degree students from Hereford College of Arts, who have responded to Mappa Mundi in wonderfully varied and imaginative ways.

"Most of the works have been produced especially for this exhibition and they invite the visitor to consider the map’s meaning and artistry more deeply. It is on display until July 15."

The Revd Canon Chris Pullin, Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral, said people from all over the world, of many faiths and of none, respond to the Mappa in all sorts of ways, giving visitors plenty to think about as we see this unique document through the eyes of others.

“Although the Mappa is a medieval Christian artefact it does contain many images that come from pagan classical culture and from further afield, so has always presented a wide and generous view of the world and of ideas about it.

“Grayson Perry’s response to the Mappa is his own personal take on things.

“Displaying his Map of Nowhere is not an endorsement of ideas he seems to express within it, but an opportunity for all of us to see what a significant contemporary artist has produced as his own Mappa Mundi.

“We are free to agree or to disagree with the take on life it expresses, but that’s true of the Mappa Mundi too.

“We have had many appreciative comments about the exhibition, and some people have made a special effort to visit in order to see the works on display.’ And Dr Rosemary Firman, the Cathedral Librarian, added: “The exhibition includes works by five established artists – Genevieve Belgard, Charlie Calder-Potts, Ewan David Eason, Andrea McLean and Grayson Perry – and 14 degree students from Hereford College of Arts, who have responded to Mappa Mundi in wonderfully varied and imaginative ways.

“Most of the works have been produced especially for this exhibition and they invite the visitor to consider the map’s meaning and artistry more deeply. It is on display until July 15.”