She didn't know what to say before she lost her tongue tail

Archetypes are prominent characters in my performative work, for the way they represent stereotypical gendered ideas about good, evil, correct an incorrect behaviour and being. The mermaid is an example that features in my video work ‘She didn’t know what to say before she lost her tongue tail’, as an inspiration for my solo show ‘Sliptong’ as well as in several performance works, unlocking and adapting her potential every time, giving space for growth, reinterpretation and liberation. Characters such as ‘the mermaid’ form a starting point from which to subvert, and emancipate the way we see their position in society and hopefully expand on what they can be and represent to us.