The Waves Of Narragansett

Summer visitors and year-round residents love to walk the seawall in Narragansett and, since last year, there's an artwork across from the beach that vies for attention with the ocean views. Titled "THE WAVES OF NARRAGANSETT," it's a 92-foot stone and porcelain relief mural, created by Rhode Island artists Mika Seeger and Peter Geisser. The five sections of the mural take you through the history of Narragansett, beginning with the earliest sea creatures and moving on to the Native Americans and their farming activities. The third segment shows South County plantations and the slave trade; the next the tourism of the 19th Century's Golden Age; and finally the fishing industry, with a weathered-faced man in a small dory pulling on his nets — said to be modeled on Seeger's father, Pete. The mural is so densely detailed, with such startling perspectives and varied textures, that it deserves a careful look, perhaps every time you walk the wall. | Beach Street, Narragansett