The exhibition Nostalgia for the mud investigates a primal desire to return to our roots, like the eel's journey through life phases in search of origin. In Born From the Mud, the artist draws on Aristotle’s theory that eels spontaneously emerge from mud and rainwater, contrasting it with ancient beliefs, such as the Egyptians' idea that eels were born from the sun warming the Nile or Pliny the Elder’s notion that they regenerate from fragments rubbed off on rocks.

Marshall explores these myths, making a parallel with humanity's quest to understand origins, reflecting humans’ deeper existential questions about existence. The eel's mysterious journey from the Sargasso Sea, undergoing significant transformations that once led scientists to think they were separate species, mirrors the human experience of metamorphosis and change. The artist sees this as a symbol of the cycle of coming from and returning to the void.

For this piece, Marshall used caustic soda to etch a pink, watery texture into the lino, representing the eel's journey from the cosmic sea to the earthly realm, in the mud.