Largest merperson sculpture

The largest sculpture of a merperson in the world is Jalakanyaka (or Mermaid), by Indian sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman (1937–present). Reclining in a shell-shaped pool at Shankumugham Beach in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, the concrete mermaid is 26.5 metres (87 feet) long and 7.6 metres (25 feet) tall. The shell within which she lies is approximately 32 metres (105 feet) long.

Jalankanyaka is bare-breasted with long flowing hair and legs that end in a partial fish tail with fins. Her arms are only partially represented, as she reclines back on them and they sink abstractly into the ground beneath her. Her head faces skywards and her eyes are closed.

Jalakanyaka was created in concrete between 1990 and 1992 by Kanayi Kunhiraman, the Royal Sculptor for Kerala (Raja Shilpi). Speaking about the concept behind the work, which was informed by consultation with local people, Kunhiraman is recorded as saying that Jalakanyaka is a mermaid seeking refuge on land because the sea has become polluted. Unfortunately, once she leaves the sea she finds that the land is also contaminated, so she looks to the Sun to save the Earth. The sculpture is also known as Sagarakanyaka and Matsyakanyaka: all three titles are equivalent to mermaid, sea-maid or nereid.

Other large sculptures of what look like merpeople include Andy Scott’s Arria Statue at Cumbernauld, Scotland, UK, which is 33 ft (10 m) tall, though correspondence with the artist confirms that she was never conceived as a mermaid, despite subsequent viewers and the media dubbing her as such. Another example is the Nüwa statue in Shenzhen, China, which stands 40 ft (12.2 m) tall. Nüwa is, however, a serpent goddess and her tail as depicted on the statue lacks the fins and fluke of a traditional mermaid.