BURNHAM-ON-SEA-LIFE (MUDFLAT)
Triptych of 4.6 x 0.6 m mosaic murals installed onto a seawall
Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset (2022)
Commissioned by Seed and Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge Council
Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset (2022)
Commissioned by Seed and Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge Council
Burnham-on-Sea-Life (Mudflat) depicts local wildlife of all sizes found in the Bridgwater Bay
mudflats including birds, fish, crustaceans, worms, molluscs and plankton. The three panels
act as windows through the seawall onto both the recognisable and the often unseen but
essential parts of the ecosystem, revealing the importance of every living thing, big and small,
in this unique habitat. Two panels illustrate a ‘tide out’ scene and one shows a ‘tide in’ where
sky and birds are replaced by fish and water. The dark sections of background represent
layers of sediment and sea water, providing a backdrop for the species found on or below
the mudflat surface as well as some of the smallest aquatic species.
Left panel top (left to right): Wigeon, Curlew, Dunlin, Godwit, Shelduck, Oystercatcher,
Whimbrel, Redshank, Knot, Avocet
Left panel bottom (left to right): Pleurobrachia pileus (sea gooseberry), Crangon crangon
(common shrimp), Pisidia longicornis (long clawed porcelain crab), Limacina retroversa (sea
snail/sea butterfly), Foraminifera, Peringia ulvae (mud snail), Copepod, Diatom Gyrosigma
sp., Pygospio Elegans (bristleworm), Cerastoderma edule (cockle), Diatom Odontella sinensis,
Dinoflagellate Protoperidinium, Copepod Oithona nana
Centre panel top (left to right): Pouting, Lesser spotted dogfish, Whiting, Thorn-back ray, Twaite
shad, Chrysaora hysoscella (jellyfish), Flounder, Common goby, Thick-lipped grey mullet, Eel
Centre panel bottom (left to right): Amphipod Talitrus saltator, Hediste diversicolor (ragworm),
Diatom Coscinodiscus wailesii, Sea urchin larva, Retusa obtusa (Arctic barrel-bubble), Aurelia
aurita juvenile (jellyfish), Neomysis integer (shrimp), Cnidarian Muggiaea atlantica, Diatom
Diploneis littoralis, Polychaete Tomopteris helgolandica, Copepod Ditrichocorycaeus anglicus
Right panel top (left to right): Grey plover, Dunlin, Knot, Ringed plover, Kentish plover,
Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Avocet, Shelduck, Dunlin, Wigeon
Right panel bottom (left to right): Meganyctiphanes norvegica (krill), Diatom Navicula viridula
var. Rostellata, Phoronid Actinotrocha branchiata larva, Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin),
Nephtys hombergii (cat worm), Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin), Ctenophore Beroe cucumis,
Dinoflagellate Ceratium fusus, Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin), Carcinus maenas (Shore Crab),
Cladoceran Podon intermedius, Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin), Foraminifera
mudflats including birds, fish, crustaceans, worms, molluscs and plankton. The three panels
act as windows through the seawall onto both the recognisable and the often unseen but
essential parts of the ecosystem, revealing the importance of every living thing, big and small,
in this unique habitat. Two panels illustrate a ‘tide out’ scene and one shows a ‘tide in’ where
sky and birds are replaced by fish and water. The dark sections of background represent
layers of sediment and sea water, providing a backdrop for the species found on or below
the mudflat surface as well as some of the smallest aquatic species.
Left panel top (left to right): Wigeon, Curlew, Dunlin, Godwit, Shelduck, Oystercatcher,
Whimbrel, Redshank, Knot, Avocet
Left panel bottom (left to right): Pleurobrachia pileus (sea gooseberry), Crangon crangon
(common shrimp), Pisidia longicornis (long clawed porcelain crab), Limacina retroversa (sea
snail/sea butterfly), Foraminifera, Peringia ulvae (mud snail), Copepod, Diatom Gyrosigma
sp., Pygospio Elegans (bristleworm), Cerastoderma edule (cockle), Diatom Odontella sinensis,
Dinoflagellate Protoperidinium, Copepod Oithona nana
Centre panel top (left to right): Pouting, Lesser spotted dogfish, Whiting, Thorn-back ray, Twaite
shad, Chrysaora hysoscella (jellyfish), Flounder, Common goby, Thick-lipped grey mullet, Eel
Centre panel bottom (left to right): Amphipod Talitrus saltator, Hediste diversicolor (ragworm),
Diatom Coscinodiscus wailesii, Sea urchin larva, Retusa obtusa (Arctic barrel-bubble), Aurelia
aurita juvenile (jellyfish), Neomysis integer (shrimp), Cnidarian Muggiaea atlantica, Diatom
Diploneis littoralis, Polychaete Tomopteris helgolandica, Copepod Ditrichocorycaeus anglicus
Right panel top (left to right): Grey plover, Dunlin, Knot, Ringed plover, Kentish plover,
Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Avocet, Shelduck, Dunlin, Wigeon
Right panel bottom (left to right): Meganyctiphanes norvegica (krill), Diatom Navicula viridula
var. Rostellata, Phoronid Actinotrocha branchiata larva, Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin),
Nephtys hombergii (cat worm), Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin), Ctenophore Beroe cucumis,
Dinoflagellate Ceratium fusus, Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin), Carcinus maenas (Shore Crab),
Cladoceran Podon intermedius, Limecola balthica (Baltic tellin), Foraminifera