Mermaid Fountain

The Mermaid Fountain entwines folklore into conversations about water, care, and responsibility. In myth, water sources were often protected by guardians, usually powerful female figures tasked with keeping springs clean and communities safe. It was environmental stewardship before the term existed. Fast forward to today and mermaids have had a glow up. They now appear as symbols of marine activism, drawing attention to plastic pollution, rising seas, and stressed oceans. This playful myth meets serious climate reality. The fountain also nods to research on adaptation and resilience. Like mermaids, we must protect what sustains us and respond to change with care. So, is our on-campus mermaid quietly guarding Birmingham’s water?

This large bronze sculpture is of a mermaid. It has a nude human female torso and the tail of a fish which is scaled and tapers to a fork at the end. Its arms are outstretched with its hands raised palms towards the sky. The mermaid has long wavy hair. Its face has a relaxed, neutral   expression. Water is depicted carved in bronze, rising up the base of the mermaid’s tail. The mermaid is pale sage-green in colour. The mermaid sits on a round platform within a cream-coloured stone clamshell which is raised on a round stone platform within a larger flat, water feature. The standing water is covered in a perforated metal sheeting safety cover. Around the edge of the clamshell are six small green-coloured bronze flowers which have the appearance of a water lily and running water jets out of these as a fountain. The fountain is not always switched on, if it is on, the sound of running water can be heard. The name of the artist, William Bloye and the year the sculpture was made, 1960, are carved by hand in the mermaid’s tail. The sculpture sits within a square courtyard at the centre of the Guild of Students.