Devon woman creates mermaids out of rubbish to highlight beach pollution
Video by Claire Twitchin
A photographer from Teignmouth has come up with a unique way to highlight the problem of people leaving litter on her local beach.
Claire Twitchin was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2021 for services to the community, particularly during the pandemic. Her work mainly involved fundraising but now she wants to bring about change.
She used some of the litter she collected on her daily beach cleans to create a living artwork on The Point - using two models with mermaid tails made out of rubbish, although the netting was donated for the project.
The photoshoot took place on Saturday 10 July and Claire posted the pictures on social media, with her message, which she hopes will spread far and wide.
Claire said, "Over the last 12 months, I have been using my photography to highlight the 'mindful littering', in reference to people consciously deciding to leave their rubbish behind.So, I decided to keep and store what I could, to highlight the challenges facing our beaches and oceans.
"Marine litter is a special threat because it does not fully degrade, instead, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics, leading to digestive problems to ocean dwellers who mistake it for food.
"Our beach does not magically clean itself. Please remember, if you can carry it there in bags, you can also take it away with you when you leave.
A gallery of photos from the mermaids shoot