NORFOLK — The Berkley neighborhood’s mermaid statue is back after a car crash took her out of commission over a year ago.
She’s also sporting a fresh coat of paint, new jewelry and even an updated hairdo.
The mermaid statue, which was called Flying Spirit, stood for around a decade at the corner of Berkley Avenue and Main Street before being struck by the car. Though more than 100 fiberglass mermaid statues are on display across the city as part of a long-running public art installation, the Flying Spirit is the only mermaid currently located in south Norfolk, according to the city’s mermaid spotting map.
Berkley residents set about coming up with a replacement mermaid last year and recruited Norfolk artist Monique Selby to create a new paint design that also honored the original work.
Selby said she worked with the Berkley Historical Society to recreate the original mermaid’s dress design while also adding some new, personal touches: bracelets, a necklace and seashell-and-pearl earrings. The black base color is highlighted by gold hair and tail accents, a black-and-white dress and the Pan-African colors of green, yellow and red on the jewelry.
“It’s just the best opportunity I could have,” Selby said. “It’s one of the biggest projects I’ve done this year.”
Norfolk artist Monique Selby poses with a fiberglass mermaid before painting it in 757 Makerspace. (Photo courtesy of Monique Selby)
Selby began work on the statue in February, spending two months to complete the work. The mermaid now sits on the median of Berkley Avenue at the intersection with Main Street in Berkley and was introduced in a Juneteenth ceremony.
Resident Vincent Hodges, who was among the residents who advocated for the replacement mermaid, applauded Selby’s work and described her as Berkley’s unofficial artist-in-residence.
“Monique Selby has been confident and unwavering in confidence about her ability to convey her vision of Black love through this project,” Hodges told Norfolk City Council members Sept. 9.
The Norfolk mermaids were the brainchild of Peter G. Decker Jr., a former Norfolk lawyer and philanthropist, who suggested the “Mermaids on Parade” event in 1999. Decker’s wife, Bess Decker, was inspired by Chicago’s “Cows on Parade” art exhibit to create a similar event for the city, according to the Norfolk website.
In 2000, an initial run of 150 mermaids were painted and auctioned off to area businesses. Close to 100 mermaids, both originals and newer additions, can be located on an online map.
Occasionally, the mermaids receive face-lifts. In late 2021, the mermaid located at the intersection of Llewellyn Avenue and 21st Street was repainted by Vivian Davis with the d’Art Center, according to Virginian-Pilot reporting. Davis has rehabilitated at least one other mermaid statue and documented the process on her Instagram page.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/09/18/berkley-mermaid-makeover/
