An Underwater Experience

  (Vissitudes, 2007)

One would find this a very extraordinary experience created by Jason de Caires Taylor: finding some sculptures under 5m clear water in the sea of Grenada, southern tip of the Windward Island in the Caribbean.

    

The sea of the Caribbean is crystal clear, and the sculptures could be viewed simply by swimmers doing snorkeling.  There are several groups of sculptures, several communities, that Taylor has placed under the sea.  Through the clear blue water, the sculptures look like some ancient ruins and the appreciation process becomes an interesting discovery process.

The sculptures at the beginning are the art creations of Taylor, but after those have been placed under the sea, the nature takes it on board to shed lives to the sculptures.  The sculptures have evolved under the sea through time and eventually become part of the coral reef and habitats under the sea.  The project demonstrates and experiments on the relationships between man and environment, art and nature, transformation and immortality. 

Quote:  Taylor focuses his work on the connection between the object and the environment in which it is placed reflects his own experience: “I encountered change from an early age as my family moved from one cultural environment to another. This was the beginning of my fascination with how objects and relationships change as landscapes and contexts alter.”

One of the underwater communities created by Taylor is the Vissitudes: a circle of figures, all linked through holding hands. These are life-size casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic background, evoking ideas of unity and continuum.

 

Here are some other underwater communities created by Taylor, they are now in the sea of Grenada, transforming and waiting to be discovered.   (The Lost Correspondant, 2007) 

  (Sienna, 2007)

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Jason Taylor was born in 1974 to an English father and Guyanese mother. Educated in South East England, he graduated at Camberwell College of Art, London Institute with a B.A.Honours in Sculpture and Ceramics. He has exhibited sculptures in several public spaces, including Trafalgar Square, Regents Park, Waterloo and Camberwell. He is a fully qualified dive instructor with over 14 years of diving experience in a variety of countries worldwide.