THE MERMAID

Giclee on Canvas
15 3/8” x 29 3/8”
Edition of 250

To understand the significance and origin of Mermaids as symbols and the compelling themes they address, it is necessary to visit the role of the human form in classic myth. The female form is of course frequently found adorning public buildings, squares, cathedrals, museums and parks around the world. In Western tradition, the ability to master the female figure is often the mark that defines fine artistic talent. Clark observes: "We remember that the nude is after all, the most serious of all subjects in art..." It is understandable that Mermaids must embody these themes in the important role they play in myth.

Here lies the power and beauty of their duality…

The Mermaid calls upon men to abandon themselves, to hurl into the deep, to sprout wings, to transform, to die to self and emerge into a new form with new knowledge and understanding.

It is significant that Mermaids are creatures of water for water has powerful symbolic value. Water is also a duality, it can sustain life, give comfort and it is a source of life and abundance. Water is the symbol we use for spiritual rebirth and renewal. It is the primordial soup, it represents purification and regeneration and it is the source from which each of us was born. Water however can also be destructive, causing inundation, drowning, annihilation and death.

Mermaids embody all of these qualities and meanings and are thus symbols of both death and immortality. They serve as escorts during times of transit, danger, transformation, uncertainty, sea voyages and missions of war. Mermaids call man, urging him to abandon what he is, to become something new.