A party that turns into a photo shoot, a series of black and white pictures presenting a mirrored view of reality in which participants were asked to play their part in front of the camera, to present an ideal collective portrait while at the same time searching in each one of them something they personally do not know or something they hide about themselves. Carly Steinbrunn was inspired by The "Mermaid Parade", a yearly march of women dressed up as mermaids taking place in Coney Island, NY. It is associated with the ideas of illusion and appearance as much as it is linked with identity and reality. The mermaid is in itself an interesting figure, being as specious as a photographic portrait may be. The project was also a tribute to American photographers such as Weegee, Diane Arbus and Sally Mann.
