Oil & acrylic painting on canvas,
67cm x 67cm.
Framed in raw timber and ready to hang.
Free shipping within Australia.
 
In this painting old fashioned storytelling is examined, using both text and imagery, to highlight the often complex and contradictory lessons we teach our children. The figure is overlaid with a screen printed image of a mermaid and text from the Sea Shell's rhyme. 
 
The mermaid references the fairy tale of the Little Mermaid and the recent elevation of the mermaid as a popular heroine. In folklore, mermaids are seductive sirens who employ their beauty and their voice to lure men to their watery deaths. 
 
This is in contrast to the Sea Shells tongue twister, which was inspired by the Victoria- era fossil hunter named Mary Anning. As pioneering palaeontologist, Anning was responsible for the discovery of several categories of animals. The names of women like Mary Anning, who succeeded in the face of prejudice, remain largely uncelebrated in popular culture, while the sexy mermaid remains popular; hence the rhyme sits behind the subject’s head.