A Dorset artist’s sand recreation of the huge pliosaur discovered on the Jurassic Coast is being featured at a festival in Weymouth.
Lisa Katarina Lindqvist, 53, spent four weeks working on a sand sculpture of a pliosaur which was featured in a recent David Attenborough documentary.
The BBC documentary, Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, covered the discovery of a 150-million-year-old sea monster near Kimmeridge Bay.
READ MORE: Dorset fossil subject of David Attenborough documentary
It is currently on display at The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life, in Kimmeridge and has also been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the title of the most complete pliosaur skull in the world.
Lisa used the medium of sand to create an underwater Jurassic scene featuring the pliosaur attacking another marine animal.
Her sand sculpture is currently on display at the Sandworld Sand Sculpture Festival at Lodmoor Country Park in Weymouth, making it the third year her sculptures have been featured in the festival.
Lisa, from Wimborne, shared how she is delighted to bring a significant local discovery in Dorset to life through an artform which she says can be technical yet equally rewarding.
“It’s really exciting featuring this discovery at the festival. I always go on walks along the coast. It’s nice to be able to do something that is so relevant to the area.
“With every material there are a new set of challenges to learn and sand is different wherever you go. Then there’s a question on stability, we have to work from the top down and make sure everything is supported.
“They look so big, strong, and robust you don’t expect them to be so fragile. One undercut too much and the whole thing would disappear and you won’t be able to salvage any of it.”
Having started sand sculpting during the pandemic, Lisa says this particular project posed a unique set of challenges due to the immense size and unique qualities of the pliosaur.
She said: “It was also very tricky researching as everyone has a different idea of what these prehistoric creatures would have looked like. There are so many different ways a dinosaur is represented over the years.”
“The head was really tricky because some references it looks like a crocodile but in others it is like a dolphin so I struggled to put something together that looked believable.
“The one in Dorset is huge, two metres long and teeth all over the place. It’s really quite unique.”
Lisa’s sculpture is on display at the festival until Sunday, November 10 and she is encouraging local residents to attend.
“I think Sandworld is tucked away and such a treasure. There’s so much talent there I have been blown away by the sculptors come in and create their work. It’s for people of all ages and I'm always awestruck by how amazing it is."
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