“Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculptures are bittersweet, submerging vulnerable human forms in barren, shallow seas. Taylor has worked with scientists to craft his art with materials that promote coral growth. In time, these artistic warnings will become bulwarks against the changing seas, organically transforming into new underwater habitats.”
-written by World Science Festival Staff
Picture Gallery: Jason de Caires Taylor’s Caribbean Underwater Sculptures are Works of Art that Encourage Environmental Awareness in the Caribbean
Born in 1974 to an English father and Guyanese mother, Taylor grew up in Europe and Asia, where he spent much of his early childhood exploring the coral reefs of Malaysia. Educated in the South East of England, Taylor graduated from the London Institute of Arts in 1998 with a BA Honours in Sculpture and went on to become a fully qualified diving instructor and underwater naturalist. With over 20 years diving experience under his belt, Taylor is also an award winning underwater photographer, famous for his dramatic images, which capture the metamorphosing effects of the ocean on his evolving sculptures.
In 2006, Taylor founded and created the world’s first underwater sculpture park. Situated off the west coast of Grenada in the West Indies it is now listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic and was instrumental in the creation of a National Marine Protected Area by the local Government.
Following on in 2009 he co-founded MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte), a monumental museum with a collection of over 500 of his sculptural works, submerged off the coast of Cancun, Mexico; described by Forbes as one of the world’s most unique travel destinations.
Both these ambitious, permanent public works have a practical, functional aspect, facilitating positive interactions between people and fragile underwater habitats while at the same relieving pressure on natural resources.
Taylor’s art is like no other, a paradox of creation, constructed to be assimilated by the ocean and transformed from inert objects into living breathing coral reefs, portraying human intervention as both positive and life-encouraging.
His pioneering public art projects are not only examples of successful marine conservation, but works of art that seek to encourage environmental awareness, instigate social change and lead us to appreciate the breathtaking natural beauty of the underwater world.
During the summer of 2014 Taylor submerged “Ocean Atlas ” in the Bahamas, which is currently the largest single underwater sculpture in the world measuring 5 meters high and weighing over 60 tons.
Jason Taylor’s full biography and more information of his work can be found here .