Every day, walk her, she’s yours, our familiar, her voice is the patterns of freedom and change. Did you lose your footing, my dearest? Then swim through the human detritus and praise the decay. Her heart is your sword, and her home your throat, and her living is living and being is you. We came from her, made her, and now she makes us again, listen in shells and speak yourself anew.
The mythology surrounding Mermaids can be found across the globe. Almost every geographical area that borders the sea has a version of a mermaid story. A common trope is the relationship between the mermaid and her voice.
Iluka is one of the most personal sculptures of this series. She was born from a time when I had lost my own voice, both physically and metaphorically. Iluka has shells in her throat as a reference to the notion of ‘finding your voice’, whether that is within one’s art or within relationships. It is about discovering the essence of who you are and expressing it authentically. Understanding one’s unique perspective, values and passions and allowing them to shine through in everything you create and do. Speaking your truth, listening to yourself, being vulnerable, connecting with others and honouring your story are all the messages of Iluka.
In both life and art, your voice reflects your identity and values. It is not about perfection – it is about truth and resonance. Iluka asks us to give ourselves permission to grow and to make mistakes. Finding your voice is not a destination but a journey. It is a process of constant discovery and self-acceptance, allowing you to create, live and communicate with authenticity and power.
Iluka challenges us to confront the detritus of our existence, find grace in decay, and rediscover the transformative power of storytelling. She invites us to the parts of ourselves and our world that are decaying and to find beauty in the transience of it all. Just as the ocean constantly reshapes the shore, Iluka reminds us to embrace change and find ourselves anew in the ebb and flow of life.
Iluka speaks to the concept of transformation through connection to nature, the cycles of life, and confronting decay. As a mermaid, she straddles two worlds – the land and the sea – suggesting that we, too, live between different realities: the one we inhabit and the one that lies beneath, waiting to surface if we listen closely enough. This dual existence reflects the need for adaptation, the search for strength in turbulent waters, and the capacity to find freedom and beauty in change.
Through Iluka, the boundaries between the ephemeral and the eternal are challenged, inviting us to reflect on the stories we leave behind and the ones we choose to craft anew.
