Underwater Sculputures - By Jason De Caires Taylor

How do you take sculptures and make them worthy enough for the world to travel specifically to see them? 'Drown them' was the idea Jason De Caires Taylor came up with. Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculptures create a unique, absorbing and expansive visual seascape. Highlighting natural ecological processes Taylor’s interventions explore the intricate relationships that exist between art and environment. His works become artificial reefs, attracting marine life, while offering the viewer privileged temporal encounters, as the shifting sand of the ocean floor, and the works change from moment to moment.

From 'Jason De Caires Taylors' perpective

The experience of being underwater is vastly different from that of being on land. There are physical and optical considerations that must be taken into account. Objects appear twenty five percent larger underwater, and as a consequence they also appear closer. Colours alter as light is absorbed and reflected at different rates, with the depth of the water affecting this further. The light source in water is from the surface, this produces kaleidoscopic effects governed by water movement, currents and turbulence. Water is a malleable medium in which to travel enabling the viewer to become active in their engagement with the work. The large number of angles and perspectives from which the sculptures can be viewed increase dramatically the unique experience of encountering the works.

The ocean is imbued with mystery. Underwater and devoid of white walls the viewer is unrestrained in their interaction with the work. Buoyancy and weightlessness enable a detached physical experience, encouraging encounters that are perceptual and personal. As time passes and the works change, they reshape and redefine the underwater landscape in unpredictable ways.

The most famous artwork
Vicissitudes is the most famous art work by Jason. Vicissitudes depicts a circle of figures, all linked through holding hands. These are life-size casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic background. The sculpture proposes growth, chance, and natural transformation. It shows how time and environment impact on and shape the physical body. Children by nature are adaptive to their surroundings. Their use within the work highlights the importance of creating a sustainable and well-managed environment, a space for future generations.

The un-still life
Un-Still Life mirrors the classical composition of traditional still life tableaux. On a table is an arrangement of cement objects, a vase, bowl and fruit. In contrast to established ideas of stasis the work is perpetually changing, remaining a work in progress as layers build on its surface.

The Lost Correspondent
The Lost Correspondent depicts a man sitting at a desk with a typewriter. The desk is covered with a collection of newspaper articles and cuttings that date back to the 1970s. Many of these have political significance, a number detail Grenada’s alignment with Cuba in the period immediately prior to the revolution. The work informs the rapid changes in communication between generations. Taking the form of a traditional correspondent, the lone figure becomes little more than a relic, a fossil in a lost world. 

The Grace Reef
Grace Reef is a series of sixteen figures each cast from the body of a Grenadian woman. . The work reflects the continuing evolution of the island and its people, revealing itself in dramatic and dynamic ways. The direction and strengths of currents mean that entire sections of the work become covered, hidden and lost. At other times figures emerge and are fully visible.

About Jason De Caires Taylor
 With his artwork being promoted in more than 1000 publications, Jason deCaires Taylor is a man of many identities whose work resonates with the influences of his eclectic life.  His international reputation was established in May 2006, when he created the world's first underwater sculpture park in Grenada, West Indies, leading to both private and public commissions. Taylor is currently founder and Artistic Director of the Museo Subacuático del Arte (MUSA) in Cancun, Mexico.

PS: Underwater sculptures are living reef systems, touching the structures in any form damages the delicate coral life and is therefore is strictly prohibited. The sculptures can be viewed by Scuba diving (Also available at night), Snorkelling, Glass bottom boat, Parasailing, and free diving.

Locations
- MUSA Museo Subacuático de Arte,  Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Punta Nizuc, Mexico
- Canterbury, Kent, UK 
- Grenada
- Chepstow, UK
-  T.A. Marryshow Community College
- Un-Still Life II, Crete, Greece.

Duration Accomodation and Directions
A site can be visited and viewed in a time span of 3-4 hours approximately.
Most places are easy to reach from major road intersections, railway stations and airports.
Accomodation is available at all places as he sculptures are based in major cities.

Other places to See
The sculptures are installed at various locations and hence it is not possible to compile a list of things to see around.
 
http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/evolucion-silenciosa.html