Mermaid

Lawrence Upton

I walk in West Penwith and have recently spent quite a time getting to know the mermaid of Zennor. An image of her resides in a chair at Zennor Church and I go to look at her; and once I sat in the chair without hearing a groan.

There sometimes I consider unmundane things; not least, two of the most splendid lunatics the world has produced - D H Lawrence and Alaric Sumner - whom I associate with that area.

I have a set of images and poems, called west, which uses that landscape. The poems have been awaiting publication for some time and I have found waiting for that writing to appear something of a block to further Penwith writing...

So, as a way round, my latest piece refers, in its title, not to the land but to a transient inhabitant, to the mermaid of Zennor. Like her, the poems combine unlike elements, in two media and neither completely, defy my ability to completely comprehend...

What these images will become I am not yet sure. I have taken them further in some directions already... but these are the starting point, machine-generated starting sketches.

Click on the thumbnails to load the full-sized images: