Mermaids of Coney Island: Summer 2020

• Prize
  Gold in Book/People, 2nd Place winner in Book
• Photographer
  Nancy Oliveri
• Technical Info
  400 Iso Nikon D6500 With 200mm Nikkor Lens
• Photo Date
  6/1/20 - 8/1/20

The Coney Island Mermaid Parade is a festival celebrating the ancient mythology and nautical folklore of the sea and is held annually at the iconic beachfront amusement park in New York City on the weekend of the Summer Solstice. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and phased reopening of the city, the parade was cancelled this year. Instead, I went masked with a 200 mm lens to search for the real mermaids, under the pier, under the boardwalk, in the clouds and in the sea. On this desolate weekend and subsequent days I found more joy than apprehension.

"My fine art practice, influenced by surrealism, conceptual art and psychoanalysis is based on a lifelong respect and passion for photography. Now, I train AI models exclusively on my photographic archives to push the limits of pictorial plasticity while continuing my traditional digital photography practice simultaneously. I brought back a renewed sense of adventure to my 35mm digital photography. Nancy Oliveri, 1958, Providence, RI is an American photographer & recipient of numerous international exhibition awards, honors and features for her 20 photo books, still life & street photography.