There are many beautiful and unusual places in our world. Landmarks that are known all over the world, sunken ships, lost cities and civilizations. But every day it is more and more difficult to surprise tourists, and therefore one very talented and extraordinary sculptor decided to create the first underwater sculpture park.
The idea of creating underwater parks
Jason de Cayres Taylor came up with the idea of creating an underwater park. He is a resident of Mexico City who creates sculptures and plunges them into the depths of the sea. If you do not look closely, it seems that these are just the remains of sculptures from sunken ships, antique figurines, but in fact these are modern sculptures of people who are busy with their daily affairs. Jason is an underwater photographer and diving instructor in addition to his architecture studies. He is passionate about the idea of interaction between an object and the environment.
First creative steps
His first work was the discovery of an underwater sculpture park in the depths of the Molene Bay, in the Caribbean Sea.
This park was opened in 2006 and houses more than 68 sculptures, at different depths from two to eight meters. The idea of this place is to reveal the tendencies of contemporary art, namely, harmony with nature.
Some of the exhibits of this park can be seen through the water surface, but to find out what is even deeper, visitors will be able to only after being fully equipped in a special suit.
Silent Evolution Project
The project is called "Silent Evolution". This is the last and most colorful project. The sculptor creates sculptures with the help of special materials, on which sea inhabitants eventually settle down. In total, there are 200 exhibits in the park, there are children and old people, modern sculptures and copies of antique monuments.
The park is being created not far from one of the favorite vacation spots of tourists, not far from Cancun. The idea of creating the park is aimed at attracting an even greater flow of tourists. The government also wants to preserve the coral reefs, which are gradually dying out due to curious divers. And the last, not unimportant goal of the project is to preserve and revive the ecosystem of the reservoir. After all, not everyone is accustomed to just admiring the beauty, but also to touch, to take a piece as a keepsake.
It was in this underwater park that Jason de Cayres Taylor wanted to show how our world has changed, from the era of the mysterious Maya to an ultra-modern society that can fly into space.
This is not the first idea of the architect, there are already five such underwater parks in the world, each of which has its own idea and purpose.
The most famous underwater statues
Such underwater parks are found not only in Mexico and the surrounding regions. During the entire existence of the world, the depths of the sea have taken with them many ships and "sunken civilizations." Therefore, this beauty can be observed both in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and near Egypt, Italy and other corners. There is an unspoken list of the most beautiful sculptural compositions.
- The main composition of the underwater park in Mexico bears the same name, that is, "Silent Evolution". It consists of 400 figures, all of them are life-size.
- "Man on Fire", this name appeared due to the fact that the composition was overgrown with red corals. Holes were specially made for the corals to grow.
- The composition "ElColeccionistadeSuenos" depicts a man with a dog, carefully guarding bottles with messages to their heirs. These notes are written in different languages of the world.
- Statues of Heraklion and Kanoba, near Egypt. This place was considered the entrance to Egypt.
- The statue of Jesus Christ of the Abyssal, located in the region of Italy. The image of Jesus Christ was made and submerged in 1954. The height of the sculpture is 2.5 meters. After that, this statue was raised several times for restoration. You can see Jesus at a depth of 6 meters.
- Statues from the ruins of Cleopatra's palace in Alexandria (Egypt). The flooding took place about 1500 years ago and is currently one of the most popular tourist routes. There is something to admire here, all kinds of animal sculptures, sculptures of ancient gods, fragments of dishes, vessels, columns and other archaeological values.
- Another work by Jason de Cayres Taylor, titled Vicissitudes of Fate, is also included in the list of the most beautiful underwater sculptures. This sculptural composition consists of several figures of people holding hands and forming a circle. This sculpture is dedicated to the slaves who died while transporting them along the rivers.
- This list also includes the Bayi sculpture resting in the Gulf of Naples. These sculptures fell into the depths of the sea due to volcanic activity.
- Underwater sculptures, Bali island. This project is very similar to the Gulf of Mexico project in that it adheres to the goal of preserving coral reefs.
- Gnome Park, UK. This is the strangest underwater park in existence. It was created for divers, but after a tragic incident the gnomes were removed, and 15 years later they were returned back. The sculptures are now at a depth of 50 meters.
All projects of this talented sculptor are aimed at the fact that after several decades there will be no trace of the park, but sea inhabitants, fish, crabs, mollusks will live well in this place, which these sculptures will transform into an artificial reef. Jason de Cayres Taylor is "sober" about the future. Thus, through art, he tries to combat the negative impact of man on the environment. Indeed, according to the calculations of many scientists, in the next 40-50 years, we may lose most of what nature has given us.
