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MERMAID SCULPTURE __ FOLKESTONE
MERMAID SCULPTURE ( by Cornelia Parker ) -- FOLKESTONE BEACH , ENGLAND
Bronze on a granite boulder Dimensions: Height 155cm; width 172cm; depth 110cm
A reinterpretation of one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, Copenhagen's 'Little Mermaid', and as a means of engaging with Folkestone's local community and with the reality of the female form. Inspired by the story of The Sea Lady by HG Wells (a long-time resident of Folkestone) and the famous fairy-tale of Hans Christian Anderson (who visited Folkestone in 1857), Parker developed the concept for the work in 2009 during the Copenhagen Climate Conference.
The Mermaid's gaze over the horizon is also an allusion to the rising sea levels and endangered populations living by the sea. The work takes the form of a life size bronze cast of a local resident. Folkestone residents were invited to model for the Mermaid and through a process of open submission Parker shortlisted six potentials, with an aim not to find a look-alike of the idealised Copenhagen Mermaid, but ... a real person, a free spirit. The sculpture overlooking the beach , next to Folkestone's harbour, was a local mother of two.
It is an inspiring and superb sculpture.
MERMAID SCULPTURE __ FOLKESTONE
MERMAID SCULPTURE ( by Cornelia Parker ) -- FOLKESTONE BEACH , ENGLAND
Bronze on a granite boulder Dimensions: Height 155cm; width 172cm; depth 110cm
A reinterpretation of one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, Copenhagen's 'Little Mermaid', and as a means of engaging with Folkestone's local community and with the reality of the female form. Inspired by the story of The Sea Lady by HG Wells (a long-time resident of Folkestone) and the famous fairy-tale of Hans Christian Anderson (who visited Folkestone in 1857), Parker developed the concept for the work in 2009 during the Copenhagen Climate Conference.
The Mermaid's gaze over the horizon is also an allusion to the rising sea levels and endangered populations living by the sea. The work takes the form of a life size bronze cast of a local resident. Folkestone residents were invited to model for the Mermaid and through a process of open submission Parker shortlisted six potentials, with an aim not to find a look-alike of the idealised Copenhagen Mermaid, but ... a real person, a free spirit. The sculpture overlooking the beach , next to Folkestone's harbour, was a local mother of two.
It is an inspiring and superb sculpture.