THE MERMAID
Another ubiquitous figure, the mermaid is part of the folklore of any country with a shoreline. There are different types of sea-dwelling shape-shifters around the country, including the Kelpie, who turned into tame horses, but if they enticed someone to ride on their backs would dash of into the water and drown the rider, and the Selkie who wore the skins of seals in the water. They can either be good or bad, and this picture again has an ecological bias, since she had been trapped in a fisherman's net, and is dying on the beach. She has the traditional paraphernalia of the Mermaid in the shape of her mirror, but it is turned face down, as her own face is turned away - in capture her identity is lost.
All images and text Copyright © 2003 Caroline Blackburn.