the bronze statuette sits in an alcove in a stone-walled riverbank about a meter above the dark water. There is a snow-covered ledge below her and snow covered grass at the top of the walled bank. The year 1881 is chiseled into a stone at the top of the alcove. A steel post, a fence, some tree trunks, and a blue, passing car are visible over the top of the wall. The mermaid's hair is splayed out behind her, suggesting that she only recently emerged from the river to sit. She is topless and looking up and to her left; perhaps wondering what it would be like to be a bird.