mermaid

My name is Marie-Chantal Cadieux, I am an artist and a mermaid at heart ♥

Ever since I can remember, I've never felt like I fit in anywhere. I was just 3 years old the first time I told my mother I wanted to leave the country. I wanted to go to Paris to be an artist! Hehe!

I was 4 years old the first time I ran away from home on my tricycle, they found me on the other side of the water canal, in the next city. That year, in 1975, my aunt took me to the theatre to see Disney's Fantasia. Little did she know that this was gona change my life forever. These images would remain with me and inspire me for the rest of my life. I became infatuated with romanticism and mythical creatures, later with mythology itself and finally, with history.

I've never been a very sociable child, I've always desperately attempted to isolated myself from people by locking myself in a closet or hiding under a bed in order to be able to draw in peace. I tried to find the sound of silence, wherever it could be found, which rarely occurred living near a train track and in a busy city. The only place where I could find peace & quiet was by sinking myself underwater in the bath tub and just listening to the sound of my own heartbeat. Every trip to the country was a blessing and nature soon became my best friend. Then when I was 6 years old, we've moved to the subburbs and got a swimming pool, no little girl in the world could have been happier. If it wouldn't have been for summer being so short in this country and not being able to swim more than 2-3 months per year, I probably would have become a professional synchronised swimmer or something similar!

I recall tying my legs together with a skipping rope as a kid before throwing myself in the pool, without adult supervision, and practicing for hours and hours how to swim like a mermaid. The water was the only place I felt free, happy and at peace. I'd hold my breath until I was on the verge of fainting which, for little silly me, was the best feeling in the world! Heh!

For several years the only way I had to express who and where I wanted to be was through drawings & paintings. Then, as a young adult, I met someone who made me discover the joys of photography. Creating new worlds and freezing myself in time through them was a way to escape for a while, but I was still unhappy living in the modern world and still never felt like I fitted in anywhere. I tried everything to escape the daily life. For a long time, traveling through time with the help of historical reenactment was my way out but it soon became even more political and invadind than the world I was trying to escape, so then, I started acting. Being anyone but myself had always made me feel good, so that's what I did with the help of theater and public animation for many years. Then later came the magical world of digital imaging. This became my dream maker & reality tool, at last, I was able to display myself exactly as who, what & where I wanted to be according to my mood. I went from being a sad frustrated lonely individual to a cheerful, fullfiled and blossoming girl. This new media gave me wings… Litteraly!!! … Oh, and a tail too!! :D

But a few years ago, I've discovered that there was such a thing as professional mermaids out there. Because theme parks, aquariums & hotels in Canada don't hire them so I was never given the chance to see any. But thanks to the internet, I got to know a few of them. From the day I realised I wasn't alone, I've been a happy person, I now know that Im no longer the only Alien out there! Hehe! I have sisters and brothers who are desperatly seaking a better world to live in as well, and we have found this world within the loving arms of mother nature.

I live & breathe with a camera in my hands; I'm infatuated with the sky, the sun and flowers but especially with the ocean. I'm in love with water and all its living creatures and I've never been given the chance to see it outside of huge tourist areas. I don't think the purity and beauty of the turquoise sea and its surrounding could compare to anything else in the world. If ultimate peace can be found anywhere on this earth, this has to be it, it can only be found withing the depths of the sea.

I live in Canada, many hours drive from the ocean shore and I don't currently own a car. Not being close to the ocean and nature pains me every single day. But all that is soon going to change. I am a mermaid at heart and proud to say it. I have finally found my voice and my identity. The ocean is my home, it's where Im happy, it's where I feel like I belong. And soon, I will join its magical world and it will embrace me once more of its warm carresses and dance with me from dawn 'til sunset. I love being a professional mermaid performer and hopefully, it's only the begining of this magical adventure for me. Hearing the screams and cheers of children when they see me moves me to tears, seeing their little eyes glow in amazement and the joy interacting with me procures them is priceless. Nothing in the world equals that feeling. I have the power to bring back the kid in older folks and keep the dream alive for the younger ones... and THAT is what magic is to me :)