A Spanish steel sculptor may have taken the idea of “laying pipe” a little too far with his latest installation.

In Valencia, a public display of works by local artist Antoni Miro is arousing controversy with depictions of naked men and women engaged in various sexual pursuits. The X-rated sculptures, installed along a bustling marina to promote an upcoming art exhibition, depict acts such as masturbation, oral sex and vaginal intercourse.

Miro tells the French news organization Agence France Presse that he made the racy works in 2007 after finding inspiration in 2,500-year-old Greek ceramics. His pieces, he adds, represent a “re-encounter with our roots.”

Some Spaniards are certainly hot and bothered by that re-encounter. The Family Forum Association, a conservative group in the area, spoke out against the display in a statement, slamming it as “highly explicit sexual content” that is inappropriate for children and may even violate the law, the AFP reported.

Miro told Spanish media outlets that such claims were “behind the times” and that the erotic spirit infusing his art is a common aspect of the human experience.

“It must be seen with normality; it’s an act of love,” he said to the AFP.