Living Statue: Sera

Sera standing still for a long time sped up and put to music


Sera standing still for a long time in real time


New Yorkers' reactions to a living statue


Interview with Sera

Artist: Sera
Medium: Living Statue
Location: Union Square on the 14th St. side

Sera is most definitely a real girl she just plays a fake one at work. Sera is a living statue and in a city where the abnormal is routinely unnoticed, she seems to have a special way of unsettling otherwise stalwart denizens.

Of course, standing on her pedestal, alone, at night Sera’s ghostly act can be imposing. And perhaps with all the art around the City people actually more expect a public statue than a human standing still. Whatever excuse you prefer, people found this living statue worth noting.

Sera, who was visiting from Boston, is a self-taught mime who was forced to make the transition to living statue from fire-eater after she learned the Boston police aren’t particularly keen on that act. “If you try to eat fire in public in Boston eight policemen will show up and take you down to the station in two minutes.”

Sera is very dedicated to street performance. Originally a Middle-Eastern style dancer, Sera traded dance lessons for fire-eating lessons. She then began performing on the street to keep up her pyrotechnic skills and eventually made the switch to living statue after her legal troubles. Now being a living statue is Sera’s passion. Street performance is how she earns the majority of her money and, in the summer, she routinely turns down gigs in favor of being in public. A living statue for two years and a fire eater for four, Sera describes her career as a fixation and spends countless hours thinking about new costumes and ideas. Currently she is involved in creating a heated stand for herself and is taking fire-eating lessons in the city. However, a large part of Sera’s love for her job is that she doesn’t think of it as a job. Instead, it’s her art form and her desire to express herself and make a statement is what keeps her braving the elements and the people.

In New York for a week, Sera says that she enjoyed her stay and that although the money in Boston is better, she would prefer to be around New Yorkers any day with the exception of the Times Square Police. “Boston, much better money because it has bigger tourist traps but I would rather be around New Yorkers any day…Bostonians are mean.”

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