Eight metres below the ocean surface at the end of the Busselton Jetty is a diverse and artistically eye-catching Underwater Sculpture Park featuring 13 stunning sculptures crafted by artists from across Western Australia!
Bronze Mermaid
In 2023 Dunsborough artist Cerys Heyring created a Bronze Mermaid sculpture for the Busselton Jetty Underwater Sculpture Park and Artificial Reef Project. Now part of the underwater display, it is approximately 3.2 metres long, 2 metres wide, and weighs 1 tonne.
The face and body of the mermaid have been constructed mostly from bronze, allowing for fine detail, strength, and weight. The hair and tail fluke have been constructed from metal and varying mesh pattern gauges to provide rigidity and support marine growth.
What makes the ‘Bronze Mermaid’ unique is her humpback whale tail instead of a traditional fish tail – this feature provides more surface area for marine life growth for corals and sponges to attach to.
On November 27, 2023, Busselton Jetty revealed the enchanting name chosen for Cerys’s Bronze Mermaid. The name, selected from over 300 public suggestions, is Alara, which means “water fairy.”
2023 Sculptor Cerys building Mermaid and making the mould Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys building Mermaid and making the mould Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys building Mermaid and making the mould Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys’s drawing of Mermaid tail flute design Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys’s Mermaid mould in Melbourne foundry being casting in bronze.
2023 Cerys’s Mermaid in Melbourne foundry being casting in bronze.
2023 Cerys’s Mermaid in Melbourne foundry being casting in bronze.
2023 Cerys with her Bronze Mermaid pre-installation at Port Geographe Marina.
2023 Bronze Mermaid pre-installation at Port Geographe Marina.
2023 Bronze Mermaid pre-installation at Port Geographe Marina.
2023 Bronze Mermaid underwater Sculpture Park at Busselton Jetty.
2023 Bronze Mermaid Underwater Sculpture Park at Busselton Jetty.
2025 Bronze Mermaid underwater with a full head of red coral at Busselton Jetty.
2025 Bronze Mermaid being fondled by diver underwater at Busselton Jetty.
Artist Cerys Heyring
Cerys is recognised in the South West for her large bronze public art sculptures. Notable works include the ‘Yallingup Surfing Memorial’, a 7-foot statue of an early surfer with a Malibu board (unveiled at Yallingup Beach, 2 December 2011), and ‘Korrianne Gnwirri‘, a 2021 bronze sculpture of a young Wadandi girl at Slippery Rocks, Yallingup, created with Cultural Consultant Sandra Hill.
2011 Sculpture model Ric Myers & sculptor Cerys Heyring with the bronze Yallingup Surfing Memorial at Yallingup. Photo Loz Smith RIP.
2021 Korrianne Gnwiri sculpture by Cerys Heyring created with Cultural Consultant Sandra HillatSlippery Rocks Yallingup. Photo Jim King.
Cerys is a sculpture artist. She does commission art, public sculpture art works and personal pieces. He preferred medium is bronze. Email contact cerys.heyring@icloud.com
Eight metres below the ocean surface at the end of the Busselton Jetty is a diverse and artistically eye-catching Underwater Sculpture Park featuring 13 stunning sculptures crafted by artists from across Western Australia!
Bronze Mermaid
In 2023 Dunsborough artist Cerys Heyring created a Bronze Mermaid sculpture for the Busselton Jetty Underwater Sculpture Park and Artificial Reef Project. Now part of the underwater display, it is approximately 3.2 metres long, 2 metres wide, and weighs 1 tonne.
The face and body of the mermaid have been constructed mostly from bronze, allowing for fine detail, strength, and weight. The hair and tail fluke have been constructed from metal and varying mesh pattern gauges to provide rigidity and support marine growth.
What makes the ‘Bronze Mermaid’ unique is her humpback whale tail instead of a traditional fish tail – this feature provides more surface area for marine life growth for corals and sponges to attach to.
On November 27, 2023, Busselton Jetty revealed the enchanting name chosen for Cerys’s Bronze Mermaid. The name, selected from over 300 public suggestions, is Alara, which means “water fairy.”
To view Alara the mermaid, dive into the Sea of Discovery at #BusseltonJetty #SeaOfDiscovery
Images courtesy of Cerys and Busselton Jetty
2023 Sculptor Cerys building Mermaid and making the mould Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys building Mermaid and making the mould Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys building Mermaid and making the mould Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys’s drawing of Mermaid tail flute design Dunsborough.
2023 Cerys’s Mermaid mould in Melbourne foundry being casting in bronze.
2023 Cerys’s Mermaid in Melbourne foundry being casting in bronze.
2023 Cerys’s Mermaid in Melbourne foundry being casting in bronze.
2023 Cerys with her Bronze Mermaid pre-installation at Port Geographe Marina.
2023 Bronze Mermaid pre-installation at Port Geographe Marina.
2023 Bronze Mermaid pre-installation at Port Geographe Marina.
2023 Bronze Mermaid underwater Sculpture Park at Busselton Jetty.
2023 Bronze Mermaid Underwater Sculpture Park at Busselton Jetty.
2025 Bronze Mermaid underwater with a full head of red coral at Busselton Jetty.
2025 Bronze Mermaid being fondled by diver underwater at Busselton Jetty.
Artist Cerys Heyring
Cerys is recognised in the South West for her large bronze public art sculptures. Notable works include the ‘Yallingup Surfing Memorial’, a 7-foot statue of an early surfer with a Malibu board (unveiled at Yallingup Beach, 2 December 2011), and ‘Korrianne Gnwirri‘, a 2021 bronze sculpture of a young Wadandi girl at Slippery Rocks, Yallingup, created with Cultural Consultant Sandra Hill.
2011 Sculpture model Ric Myers & sculptor Cerys Heyring with the bronze Yallingup Surfing Memorial at Yallingup. Photo Loz Smith RIP.
2021 Korrianne Gnwiri sculpture by Cerys Heyring created with Cultural Consultant Sandra Hill at Slippery Rocks Yallingup. Photo Jim King.
Cerys is a sculpture artist. She does commission art, public sculpture art works and personal pieces. He preferred medium is bronze. Email contact cerys.heyring@icloud.com
Thank you Cerys and Busselton Jetty for your contributions.
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