mermaid tails emerge from washing machines at a laundromat in LA

the mundane became magic inside a seemingly ordinary laundromat in los angeles. among the tossing towels and whirling wears, laundry-doers and art-enthusiasts alike discovered mermaid tails dangling from a few of the washing machines. rich gold, yellow and iridescent purple tails surprised and delighted in both their sizable scale and curious context within such a public and typically unremarkable space. 

all images courtesy of olivia erlanger

titled ‘ida’, the offsite installation has been devised by artist olivia erlanger, and presented by mother culture, a contemporary art gallery and cultural platform in los angeles. while whimsy is apparent, erlanger intends for the artwork to have a deeper meaning. ‘I’m interested in mermaids as a kind of pre-gender or genderless archetype, a representation of a chimeric existence that I feel we each take on as different environmental pressures effect a transformation of sorts,’ erlanger told los angeles magazine about the project. ‘when they are presented as female, mermaids bring up many questions of mobility, not only in a physical sense, but also ones around agency. ariel, for example, gave up her voice to walk on land.’

in may 2019, an evolved iteration of the project has been on view at frieze new york for and now gallery.