Mermaid (working title)

Category EMERGING ARTISTS

Mermaid is a movement and voice work that explores the multilayered nature of a woman’s emotional world through the image of a mermaid. In mythology, mermaids are often portrayed as dangerous, seductive, and destructive creatures. This work, however, seeks to look beyond these representations and approach the mermaid as a complex figure whose actions emerge from inner contradictions and unspoken emotional states.

The work raises the question: what lies behind seduction, aggression, or detachment? Here, seduction reveals itself as a longing for love and closeness, anger as a response to fear, and anxiety as an expression of loneliness. The mermaid becomes a figure who outwardly acts one way while internally experiencing something entirely different, reflecting the shifting and often contradictory nature of a woman’s inner world.

Through movement, voice, and ritualistic actions — pouring water, eating seaweed, and repeating the words “ocean thoughts” — a multilayered character gradually unfolds. Sustained eye contact with the audience and tense physical forms create an intimate encounter with different emotional states and their transformations.

The work invites the audience not to judge, but to observe and reflect: what lies behind a particular emotion, behind the figure of a woman who appears strong, vulnerable, seductive, or anxious?

In mythology, mermaids are often described as soulless water creatures — dangerous beings who stir storms, lure others toward destruction, and remain hostile to humanity. But what does she actually feel? What does she long for? Why does she behave this way? Perhaps beneath it all lie uncertainty, fear, loneliness, and the impulsive decisions that can emerge from them. What does it mean to be her?

The Emerging Creators Program is supported by Baltisches Haus.