The Mermaid is a chimera, an assemblage of parts of human (a cast of the artist’s upper body) and non-human (an elephant bird) bodies with a lizard tail with a sting. The sprouting palm tree held in her hand refers to the artist’s project from 2002 – Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue.
The upper part of the Mermaid’s body is covered with a precise tattoo, depicting a dying coral reef with a fishing net, micro-plastic deposits and an oil slick. The powerful legs are borrowed from a bird species that became extinct around 400 years ago – the elephant bird. The tail is covered with scales cut from aluminium cans collected from the streets and parks of Warsaw. All elements of the work – cables, plastic, wool, cans and scrap metal – were reused in accordance with the idea of upcycling. The Mermaid with her victorious gesture is a symbol of the fight for the good of the planet. The dedication (‘to all species that we have rendered extinct’) is inscribed on the steel base, on which the wreck of a racing motorcycle is mounted. Rajkowska draws attention to the fact that we are participants in the climate catastrophe – its perpetrators and victims at the same time.