Vatican brought to account by artist

(Photograph) - A British artist has used an exhibition to highlight an environmental danger linked to the Vatican in Rome.

Rose Frain, 1999-2000 Scottish Arts Council Scholar at the British School in Rome, came to the "Eternal City" as the Vatican was gearing up for the triumphant year 2000 Jubilee celebrations.

"I came for visual arts research on this key year in Rome's history," said Ms Frain, who teaches at Northumbria University and Sheffield Hallam University.

"I heard that people living near Vatican Radio's gigantic antennae, just outside Rome, were accusing the transmitters of causing various kinds of cancer, in particular among children."

Ms Frain (pictured) painted a fresco in the British School depicting the masts, which she presented yesterday in a room filled with the sound of Vatican Radio and an LED display reading out the reports of cancer cases among local inhabitants. Photograph by PAUL BOMPARD.