Des Moines, Washington: Big Catch: Half-Woman, Half-Fish

Mutant horror in a whimsical (or scandalous) bronze sculpture of a man and a fish next to the local grocery store.

Large sculpture of a man catching a giant fish. I guess this is the one that did not get away.

This statue was much stranger than I expected... well worth the time to get a closer look. The plaque in front of the statue gives the following information about "The Big Catch," by artist Richard Beye:

"Legend of the 'Big Catch: Long ago, a beautiful young maiden fell in love with a handsome fisherman. To her dismay, the Wicked Witch of Puget Sound fell in love with him too. The Wicked Witch cast a spell and turned the maiden into a fish. For years, the sad fisherman searched all the waters of the Sound looking for his maiden, to no avail. One day, while fishing at the Des Moines fishing pier, he saw a big fish in his net. He knew it was his love. He pulled her up, kissed her, and she was transformed back into his beautiful maiden. They were married and lived happily ever after."

South of Seattle in downtown Des Moines, WA, west of I-5 and just off the Puget Sound, is a small shopping center. In front of the QFC supermarket is a bronze statue about 5 feet tall of an elderly fisherman in joyful embrace of a fish that is nearly his size. The interesting thing is that the fish has human female breasts. The liveliness of the pose of the figures is what makes the statue so charming and appealing. It created some controversy but overall the statue is inoffensive.