Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore Art Exhibition

What do Pliny the Elder, Bartholomaeus Anglicus, Christopher Columbus, the first three enslaved Africans brought to the South Carolina Low Country, Henry Hudson, explorer of the Hudson River, and the current Water Resources Minister Zimbabwe have in common? 

They have all seen mermaids!

A few months ago we posted a Call for Entries for the Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore Fibre Arts Exhibition. Well the exhibition is nigh upon us and we wanted to bring it to your attention again, simply because thematically it deals with mermaids – "black" mermaids to be specific – and culturally it is important to understand the importance of mermaids in stories and mythologies from around the world. This exhibition is also very moving—the stories of mermaids comforting African slaves kidnapped from their home and chained in the hulls of ships on route to a strange land where their lives are to be filled with horror, brings us to tears. 

This exhibition brings us those tales and more. Over 100 art quilts and art dolls will explore the visual representations of myths of Afro-centric mermaids—water spirits celebrated throughout Africa and the Afro-Atlantic world as deities.

A colour-drenched exhibition catalogue, Black Mermaids in Vision & Verse, invites you to celebrate the relationship between fine craft and soaring poetic verse that speaks of the black mermaid.  For the first time poets have been tasked with writing poems to accompany a fiber arts exhibit dealing with one specific subject.  Dive in to the rich juicy Mermaid poetry and the vivid, affecting powerful collection of artwork and you will be baptized into the undersea world of the Merpeople.

Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore promises to be a visual journey of color and inspiration, an inspiring feast of imagination and expression.  The art dolls and art quilts depicting mermaids and water spirits will delight and educate the public about this little known folklore.  The fine craftsmanship in Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore is griot in nature.  This exhibit brings together both critically acclaimed and emerging fiber artists.  Each piece is a storyteller, using color, texture, form and embellishment to express a narrative.

Curator, Torreah "Cookie" Washington says, 

Mermaid stories may have first come to the USA through the South Carolina Low Country with the first three black slaves that arrived in the year 1670 along with Colonial Barbadian immigrants.  African-based faiths honoring black mermaids have continued to flourish throughout much of the Americas.  Today, new communities of color have reestablished, revisualized, and revitalized African water spirits in their art. The quilting and doll-making traditions have also undergone a renaissance as utilitarianism has given way to fine crafts.  Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore is a journey of color and inspiration, a visual feast of imagination and expression.  The fine craftsmanship in Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore is griot in nature,” says Curator Cookie Washington.  She has brought together both critically acclaimed and emerging fiber artists.  “Each piece is a storyteller, using color, texture, form and embellishment to express a narrative.”

We would like to congratulate curator Torreah "Cookie" Washington looks to have done an extraordinary job in realising her vision. We wish we could be there, but alas, we live half way around the world.

But you can go and here is all the information you need:

Dates: 28 August to 28 October 2012

Venue: City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Historic Charleston, South Carolina USA

Website: http://citygalleryatwaterfrontpark.com/ 

The opening reception will be held on 8 September from 5pm to 8pm.

For further enquiries, email Torreah "Cookie" Washington on cookiesews1960@gmail.com or phone on +1 843 259 8108.

Art credits featured in exhibition: 

We Are Mermaids Too (Redux) by Kit Lang

Source: http://kitlangfiberart.blogspot.ca/2012/08/Kit-Lang-Black-Mermaids-Art.html

Little Karoo at Night by Kit Lang

Source: http://kitlangfiberart.blogspot.ca/2012/07/Kit-LangBlack-Mermaids.html

Mermaids in Comics 2 – The Little Sea Maid

 This was one of my favourite books when I was little. It came to me dog-eared and second-hand. There is an inscription on the inside page opposite the title page with the names of four sisters who used to be my baby-sitters so I am assuming it belonged to them and they gave it to me as a gift.

The book is called Children's Favourite Stories in Pictures. There are no authors' or illustrators' names attached to it. There is no year of publication. There is no copyright information. The publisher is Consolidated Press in Sydney. It looks like it was published in the 1950s. It has an orange cover with illustrations of daisy chain around the title but with berries instead of daisies. In the four corners are four spot illustrations including a horse and rider, as well as a dwarf plus two others that are difficult to see. The inside contains 28 stories, ranging from Greek mythology to Aesop's fables to tales from the Arabian Nights. Some are rendered in colour; others in black and white.

Why is this significant?

Most of the stories are told through sequential art. The panels are wordless, and the text is underneath but they fall under the definition of comics simply because of the sequential art. And most significantly, one of the stories is "The Little Mermaid", although it is called "The Little Sea-Maid".

This, of course, was my favourite story in this book of favourites. The images are gorgeous. They're inked.

Here's what I found online about this book:

1950? Children's Favourite Stories in Pictures. No author or illustrator acknowledged. Sydney: Consolidated Press Ltd. $2.70 somewhere in Colorado, March, '94.
This large-format book is unusual in a number of respects. First, it is one of the very few books I have from Australia. Second, it includes an unusually broad range of material, from Greek myths to Australian aboriginal folklore. Aesop is given two three-page sections: 23-25 and 87-89. Three fables are presented on each page with text and illustration equal in size and alternating columns with each other. On 89, the fables switch finally to color. The illustrations of the second set (87-89) seem to me superior in their artistry; they remind one of Boris Artzybasheff.

Source: http://www.creighton.edu/aesop/books/individualbooksbydate/1950to1954/index.php


The National Library of Australia also has it catalogued.

I think mermaid collectors would be hard-pressed to find this book on the antiquarian book market but you can try.

I've scanned in three of the six pages in the story—the ones that feature the sea maid in mermaid form and where the tail is prominent. The pages are not in sequential order.

I'll lend the book to Jozef so he can scan the entire story for his mermaid art archive. I'm sure he'll be thrilled.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 28

That's Spax, Hyfus and Razbi in case  anyone wants to know. We wonder what they're looking at? You'll find out very soon with the imminent release of the first issue of Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed.

Mermaids in Folklore and Australian Indigenous Culture – Guest Blog by Vanessa Witschi

Mermaids in Folklore

Mermaids are present in the folklore of many cultures around the world. They can be found in Native American culture, Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, as well as in Asia (particularly China, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines), Russia, Finland, France, Spain, the British Isles and India.

One of the most interesting, although perhaps not as obvious facts, is that mermaids appear in Indigenous Aboriginal culture. 

Separated by water for thousands of years, mermaids appear as an important factor in many of the language and cultural groups spread across Australia. Interestingly, for a country surrounded by oceans and seas, mermaids are largely portrayed as freshwater creatures living in rivers, lakes and billabongs.

How Mermaids are Portrayed in Different Cultures

Some cultures depict mermaids as meek benevolent beings, others as possessors of medical knowledge or as unlucky omens bringing disasters.

Both the Indian and Greek folklore see mermaids as Goddesses—some of whom were originally in a human form but were made half-fish as a punishment from the Gods, and some who always existed in mermaid form. 

Commonly, mermaids (in particular the sirens who were depicted in two forms – mermaid-like and also bird-like) are portrayed as malevolent creatures that sang or played music to lure sailors towards cliffs and death by drowning. These depictions often have their origin in early Greek, Roman or Spanish civilisations. 

In early Russian culture it was believed that women who had died violently or by their own hand lived at the bottom of rivers and mesmerised men to lure them into the river to drown them.

Even today, many cultures still believe in the existence of mermaids. In February 2012, it was reported in the UK Daily Mail, that the Water Minister for Zimbabwe announced that there were delays in building two reservoirs due to mermaids hounding the workers away. It was believed that performing rituals and sacrifices would encourage the mermaids to leave the workers alone. 

The Australian Aborigines of today also believe that mermaids still exist in their waters and rivers.  In some Northern Territory regions, mermaids were believed to instruct women in ceremonial procedures in early Dreamtime, particularly those procedures related to fertility. It was believed that they were still present in many areas and could be seen sitting on rocks but would quickly jump back into the water if they saw anyone coming.  

Another Aboriginal story tells of a man who set a trap to capture a mermaid who he then tied to a tree. He treated her very kindly and eventually she agreed to be his wife. They had children together but she one day disappeared into the river after being reminded of her mermaid form when she saw her reflection in the water.

There is also a belief in some Aboriginal language groups that albino children born to Aboriginal parents are the result of mermaid blood in their ancestry.

A Torres Strait Islander Dreamtime story tells of how fishermen caught a mermaid in their nets. The mermaid warned them not to over-fish the lake and to just to take what they needed for their family. The fishermen continued to over-fish the lake so the mermaid consequently drowned them.

Mermaids in Australian Aboriginal Art

There are a number of modern Aboriginal paintings depicting mermaids, which are held in national museums and art galleries around Australia. Perhaps the most famous are the Yawk Yawk (mermaid) sculptures held in The National Museum of Australia's collection from Western Arnhem Land. These modern woven pandanus sculptures depicting mermaid spirits are by artists Lulu Laradjbi and Marina Murdilnga.

Woven pandanus yawkyawk sculptures by Kunwinjku artists Marina Murdilnga, left, and Lulu Laradjbi. These mythical beings have the tails of fish and hair resembling algal blooms. Photos: Dragi Markovic.

Source: http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/yawkyawk-sculptures

One Aboriginal artist from the Central Arnhem Land (Darnkorlo clan, Yirridjda moiety, Ngarridj subsection, Kunwinjku language), Owen Yalandja creates sculptures and paintings almost exclusively based on the Yawk Yawk (mermaid) spirits near Barrihdjowkkeng. 

Here is one of the first carvings he ever did of a mermaid in 1993, which won the 10^th National Aboriginal Art Award that year. The work is held in the Maningrida Arts and Culture Centre in the Northern Territory. 

Source: http://natsiaadigitisation.nt.gov.au/docs/index.php?typ=artwork&p1=ABETH-3121

There are also several modern Aboriginal artworks for sale that depict mermaids including this painting by artist Edie Blitner from the Kimberley area of Western Australia. 



Source: http://arthousebroome.com.au/on-line-store/Kimberley-Art/kimberley-fine-art/eddie-blitner/mermaid-spirit

And this by Northern Territory artist Chris Liddy / Moonggun who notes that when someone drowns it means their spirit was taken by mermaid Mimi spirits. The first one is called Mermaid Mimi Spirits and Crocodile.

Source: http://aboriginalartdreaming.com/site/index.phppage=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=17&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

The second one by Chris Liddy / Moonggun is called Mermaid and Mimi Spirits.

Source: 

http://aboriginalartdreaming.com/site/index.phppage=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=17&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

  

And you can also find some more Yawk Yawk spirit painting by West Arnhem Land Kunwinjku artist Lesley Nawirridj below. They are both called Mermaid (Yawk Yawk) in the Billabong.

Source:  http://www.kunwinjku-aboriginal-art.com/aboriginal-art-water.html

You can buy some of these magnificent original paintings and printes at their respective galleries. Just follow the links attached to each piece to find out about the artist, the painting and the price!

Vanessa Witschi is a polymer clay artist who creates one-of-a-kind dreaming mermaid sculptures. These collectable mermaids are perfect for little girls, girls at heart and those who truly feel the magic of mermaids!

www.mermaidsdreaming.com.au

www.facebook.com/mermaidsdreaming

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 27

A slightly different snapshot than you're used to... more to come in the upcoming weeks. But more importantly, the first issue of Hyfus & Tilaweed is coming soon.

Photos 1 – The BMP (Classic) Team

We thought we might post a series of nostalgic Black Mermaid Productions (BMP) photos so you can check out what we've been up to through the years—this one is of the Classic team, which included co-writer Bruce Love. This photo was taken in Bruce and Jozef's Darlinghurst apartment in Sydney during the early 90s when we were working on ElfQuest: WaveDancers. Julie lived in Balmain and Birchgrove, which was about 15 minutes away. Most of our creative work was done from the couch with quick sojourns to Jozef's drawing desk where he sketched or painted away. It was a great creative partnership and we bounced ideas around with relish. It's fabulous when a team is on the same wavelength. 


Bruce left in 2003 and is doing wonderfully well in his chosen field. Jozef and Julie are focusing on Elf~Fin as you know. We were fresh-faced, young and naive when we started and now we're a little more seasoned. We also look a little different as one would expect—Jozef's hair is short and Julie has gone from dark blonde to red. 


This photo has been framed in Julie's office all these years, and today is the first time it's been scanned and released on our blog. We'll have more for you soon.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 26

This is Lyban and Fillayne. We wonder what got her attention... Find out in the first issue of Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed to be released in a few months time.