Mermaids Don't Sing Anymore

"Mermaids Don’t Sing Anymore" is a photographic exploration of myth and gender, portraying contemporary merfolk whose embodied performances blur fantasy and reality while questioning belonging and the courage to exist differently.

MERMAIDS DON'T SING ANYMORE is a photographic meditation on myth, gender, and the silent tension between fantasy and reality. A photographic exploration of merfolk, gender, and identity within contemporary aquatic spaces.

Mermaiding exists somewhere between fascination and ridicule. It may appear anecdotal — just another fleeting fantasy drifting through the endless tide of ephemeral subcultures. Living underwater, gliding between myth and performance, also means risking being perceived as detached from reality, disconnected from a world considered too heavy to bear. Contemporary mermaids evolve within an aquatic bubble, light yet radical. Their existence borders on the absurd in the eyes of the outside world: an eccentricity that unsettles family and friends alike.

And yet, there is something deeply moving in this surrender to dream and imagination. These bodies venture beyond terrestrial norms, taking risks in order to play, to exist differently. A way of embracing difference with liquid grace, defying the gaze of others and fully immersing themselves in the act of becoming someone else.

Through intimate portraits and public spaces, Coco Amardeil examines how ancient myths converse with contemporary realities of gender.

Initiated in 2025, this series of more than 30 photographs extends her studies in psychology through an ongoing dialogue with her photographic research. It explores the intimate mechanisms of human existence, our relationships with others, and our place within society. The photographs are made using Polaroid, analog, underwater, and digital processes, and are accompanied by a three-minute Super 8 film.

More than a testimony, this work belongs to a form of artistic documentary. It is about narrative, beauty, intimacy, and the fragile courage of choosing a different way to exist.