Go on have a guess. This is a sculpture - no, really - which occupies pride of place in one of London's most cherished parks.

But what is it? Is it a devastating critique of our throwaway society, a pile of rubbish representing the wastefulness of the modern world? Or, with all that tape wrapped round it, is it somehow meant to stand for the stultifying bonds of repression and conformity?

No? Give up? It is Saddam Hussein's first wife Sajida Talfah. Obviously.

The piece, by sculptor Graham Hudson, is the latest in a series of contemporary sculptures to occupy the same spot in Holland Park's Napoleon Garden.

It is made of an oil drum, cable wheels, cardboard boxes, paint and adhesive tape. According to the explanatory text, the drum and the reels stand for the war in Iraq. Mr Hudson said in a recent interview: "It's a beautiful spot named after the most successful fascist dictator in history. So we've got fascism and leisure, what a great combination! How do they link to the here and now? I guess even dictators need a bit of R and R and a cuddle now and again. Sajida Talfah was Saddam Hussein's first wife (and cousin)."

The notes add: "The upper section, with its applied paint and the partly decorative tape, also carries the suggestion of a woman, possibly one past her prime, attempting (not altogether successfully) to maintain her appearance."

Quite what Sajida Talfah would make of the comparison is hard to say because in 2006 she was placed on Iraq's most wanted list for funding Sunni insurgents and has not been seen since.

But passing members of the public were unimpressed and some didn't even realise it was meant to be art.

Barbara Whittall, one of two sisters in their seventies on a day trip to London, said: "That's not a statue, is it? I thought they were just doing it up. It's disgusting. If that is what he thought of Saddam's wife, he must have disliked her intensely."

Sister Jacqueline said: "It's too much. I can't take that. I prefer the statue of Lord Holland at the top of the park. Ask someone young - they might appreciate it." But 25-year-old Amanda didn't like it either, saying: "It looks like someone has tried to wrap up a package very poorly and stuck it in the middle of the garden. It's not my idea of art."

One of the features of the piece is that it changes. When it first appeared, the boxes were on view - now they have disappeared. One day a roadworks sign was there, the next it had gone. An upturned tin of paint now sits on top of the plastic sheeting, white paint dripping down on to the ground.

The text says: "The provisional nature of some of the materials, specifically sticky tape and card, means the sculpture is vulnerable and will change over time... The same qualities that make it vulnerable bring intentional content to the work, as the sense of something fragile struggling to remain intact is played off against the more solid drum and cable wheels - symbols of power."

Eliza Thompson, who walks her children to school through the park, said: "Did you read the bumph? I'm all for people doing what they want but wasn't it the most pretentious old baloney you ever read?"

Kensington and Chelsea council, which paid £2,000 for the installation and materials, said there has been a contemporary sculpture on the site since 1998, when a piece by Eric Gill had to be moved because it was ageing badly.

A spokesman added: "As Holland Park had a tradition of showing sculpture, and one had always been sited in the Napoleon Garden, it seemed a pity to leave an empty space."

• 

  Daughter of Anne Robinson: Mum offered to buy me Botox for my wedding. I was like: 'I'm sorry?'

  Emma Wilson reveals exactly what it's like to be Anne Robinson's daughter — and about stepping out from under her shadow

  ---

• 

  Flame and glory: Rammstein set to light up London

  Sound check: German industrial metal band Rammstein literally play with fire in their live performances - and now they are about to unleash their singeing spectacle on London. Watch out for your eyebrows

  ---