Print – Figure Series – “Mother of the Tides”

“Mother of the Tides”

In Mother of the Tides, Tanja Lategan reimagines the myth of the mermaid as a maternal figure, watching over the sea and its creatures. The fuller-bodied mermaid, with her hair tied up, sits with her back to the viewer, gazing leftward towards the unseen depths of the ocean. Her seated posture on a delicately rendered shell, adorned with a net-like pattern, symbolizes the interconnectedness of the sea’s life forms and the nurturing role of the mermaid.
Tanja’s masterful use of watercolour, pen, and ink brings this figure to life, using subtle washes of colour to reflect the shimmering ocean and her meticulous pen mark making to create depth in the shell’s intricate details. The maternal mermaid, quietly composed, embodies protection and care, suggesting that she not only guards the sea but also nurtures its life, from the smallest coral to the largest whale.

Her enigmatic presence, bathed in soft light and shadow, speaks to the ancient, mysterious tales of mermaids as keepers of oceanic balance. Lategan captures the magic and mystery of this figure, whose silent watch over the water echoes the eternal ebb and flow of the tides, making the mermaid a symbol of the life-giving power of the sea.