[9] Like almost all 20 of his sculptures produced up to 1980, this "...began as a line drawing, in elevation; proceeded to full-scale blacktape layout; and then to a magna-painted, handcrafted wooden maquette, which established the mold for the casting...in bronze by lost-wax process.

His commentary on this work located in Miami Beach is to emphasize the "absurdity of creating sculptures from such painterly forms."

[4] The work continued his 1970s sculptural theme of depicting ephemeral events in physical form with the inclusion of rays of sunlight upon the Mermaid's body.

[8] Incorporating a palm tree and a water-filled pool, Mermaid is regarded as "dazzlingly silly and provocative".

[4] The statue has been touched up on several occasions by city employees in its first 15 years of existence to deal with fading paint and the impact of hurricane forces.

[13] In 2010, an additional restoration included "cleaning, corrosion removal and stabilization of its ferrous metal elements, compounding of the painted surfaces, concrete repair, and partial repainting".