The Workington Mosaic
1995.
Area: 11 square metres. The mosaic was part of a major town renovation
scheme. The brief: to celebrate Workington, past and present.
I
carried out research in museums and libraries, and took photographs.
The overall shape of the mosaic had to fit in an asymmetrical seating
area, so I made it sail shaped: a reference to Workington’s ship
building past. The design was made up of a series of decorative
illustrations or icons reflecting different aspects of the town:
a mining tag, a crane, an outline of the castle, fish, a steel works,
and so on. These were in strong, bright colours (Italian smalti)
against a neutral background (grey and green Westmorland Slate,
especially cut for this project). The technique employed was paper-on
-face. Installation took four and a half days.
The
project was commissioned by Allerdale Borough Council, Cumbria

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