10 minute read
Underwater Sculptures
from The Earth Issue 002
Amidst the chaos and decay of the plastic age, the filth, the waste and the lack of deliberation on ways to save our planet from complete devastation, another thing we could lose right now is: hope. Artists such as Jason deCaires Taylor convey to us that feeling, that if we act now, if we show reasonable measures to help saving what is left, to prevent our ecosystems from being depleted, to not over-exhaust our resources by keeping in mind our future generations, then, there is hope we can count on. Yet we cannot simply rely on our optimistic exchange of the word hope. The key, as deCaires Taylor shows, is to take action. Acting locally, thinking globally.
Land Art is a movement that emerged at the end of the 60’s, where artworks were built from and into the natural landscape, without concern for any environmental impact or any recognition of responsibility towards nature.
Only later on, art began to constitute as a form of activism. Greenpeace’s anti-whaling campaigns, for instance, could be seen as the crucial changing point in which we see this shift of paradigm. But it was only at the beginning of this millennium that we’ve started to notice that our environment is changing rapidly. Luckily, we can rely on some artists expertise, such as deCaires Taylor, who – for the lack of voices calling to the awareness of protecting the environment – rejects the elitist trend in the art world, where the aesthetically appealing is the ultimate trend, commenting on contemporary art as follows:
“Because it’s such a vital thing to our existence, our oceans and our reefs are getting severely damaged, and this is all happening in a short space of time – just in my lifetime. When I was younger, I was lucky enough to explore pristine reef habitats, and 20 years later, those same habitats no longer exist. The impact on the trajectory of evolution is so profound. And having been a diver for a very long time, I have been fortunate to visit lot of places around the world, however people keep telling me the same story, “you should have seen this place a long time ago, it was beautiful…” it sort of got impossible for me in this day and age to do any other type of work, it would just seem very trivial and pointless.”
DeCaires Taylor’s giant cement sculptures, which are sunken into the ocean in areas with barren seedbeds, now provide a new home for the underwater world. The final pieces are sculpted by him and crafted by the ocean. Art of this nature, other than being thought provoking, is also beneficial on many levels, as the artist tells us:
"On a very basic level, it’s an artificial reef, so it provides a new habitat space for marine creatures to colonise. Most of our seabed is uninhabitable in terms of reef formation, in fact only 2-3% of our seafloor is stable enough for reefs to form, so in a way, I provide a platform for new reefs to generate. It also offers a place for the marine life to take shelter, and breed whilst drawing tourists away from fragile over stretched areas. They also provide benefits on an economic level, as some of my installations require entrance fees, which generate funds for local conservation efforts. Also the presence of marine park rangers to monitor the sites helps prevents overfishing, illegal activities; these are some of the practical benefits. On the other hand, my work is very much about encouraging people who never considered diving or who never considered oceans as a space for art to flourish. It encourages these types of people to understand care and protection, and it functions as a portal to another world, one of which is little known of…”
DeCaires Taylor’s oeuvre takes effort to understanding, obliging the viewer to go beyond boundaries of thought, only to get to the point of realizing one thing: that his work allow us to step out of our daily lives and into a completely different reality; that these sculptures carved out of stone are just a pure reflection of ourselves and some of our daily habits and routines. It is important to note that these installations are basically transferred from the closed space of the gallery to the wide oceans of the planet, automatically drawing a new frontier for both the arts and the continued health of marine ecologies. A body of work where we can find underwater sculptures that are purposely non-toxic, with no harm to the surroundings, using pH neutral materials to instigate natural growth. These sculpture parks or museums by deCaires Taylor remind us of a very urgent concept, which in this day and age needs to be redefined in order to give answers to the planet’s needs. Museums, as we know them, preserve the past, focusing on displaying the most important artworks and other objects of a certain time. As deCaires Taylor previously said regarding his own work, “we call it museum for a very important reason. Museums are places of preservation, conservation, and education(…) Wouldn’t we agree that these sacred institutions should have more of an active voice within propagating messages of caring about our oceans, raising awareness for climate change, alerting us about the damages of pollution worldwide?”
We can’t preserve the present all by ourselves, as the artist agrees with us:
“… We talk about conserving the past all the time, when we should be trying to protect it from a dark future. Statistics and scientists, have been showing us that coral reefs might not exist in 50 years time. Vanished, gone, forever. These are such vast, fundamental issues, that I don’t know how we can be talking about anything else and I think, it really is up to museums, given all we’ve been hearing about scientific facts, to make a stand and transform this gap into a collaboration. Museums and institutions have a really important role to convert science into messages which can be easily understood, translated and accessible to anyone.”
The artist himself, the sculptor, the environmentalist, the professional underwater photographer, the diver, is the one who plays the educational role, fostering care and understanding of marine ecologies. When, in reality, it shouldn’t only be the artist responsibility to do so. If we shift our attention to the political paradigm, we can see big, bold, giant political slogans, which in reality don’t mean anything. According to deCaires Taylor,
“… It is vital now, more than ever, to have leaders pointing up in the right direction.”
Will these same political elites only assume a firm position, and real action, when it will start to affect humans everyday lives? The human food chain has already been altered due to the entry of plastic toxins, causing serious diseases such as infertility, cancers and behavioural disorders. The global warming, the oceans acidification, the pollution caused by practices such as Industry and Agriculture, the overfishing, the tourism impact regarding coastal areas… This has, and will continue to have a profound impact on our daily lives as humans, and it’s up to major identities to develop their role as well. DeCaires Taylor’s artworks demands local governments to consider their coastlines and natural wonders, and forces them to ask the questions why they aren’t turning big slogans and advertisements into something that could really wake up people's’ mindset on this matter:
“That’s the thing, where’s the tipping point? When is enough? When does this mess turn into something which cannot be undone. We won’t be able to function or continue on the same route… There are solutions out there, biodegradable plastic for instance… unfortunately these alternative solutions need to be backed with political and financial aid, so we are undoubtedly heading towards a stage, when we don’t have a choice but to make a radical change. We are starting to adapt a collective conscious and awareness around the theme of pollution though: I can see people becoming more attentive to plastic in the ocean, bigger companies encourage customers to recycle their products or seek solutions from within. There seems to be positive change from the individual perspective, but less from a government level. In the UK, the government has banned a few things, such as microbeads. But, still falling away short from what’s required.”
Which leads me to explore concepts such as the Anthropocene and Plastic Age, and the fact that, in the near future, it will be linked back to our current time. How can we draw fresh perspectives from vital artists like deCaires Taylor, and most importantly, highlight our inherent apathy or denial on the environmental crisis?
Art can motivate and inspire real action in the fight for a more sustainable and brighter future:
“Artists have to be bold, brave, and not fear attacking. I really feel that some of the biggest threats to our planet are many of these huge corporations that have in some ways become more powerful than our governments, and we can’t continue in this capitalist system; the planet will not support it. And so, artists can be the trendsetters, and when people boycott products, when public opinion shifts, I think that some of these companies will find themselves in a lot of trouble. It takes bravery to manifest one's’ beliefs.”
Artists play such a vital role on these matters: activism, the lack of action from the political sphere, the massive impact brought by big corporations, the museums as having a great potential to act now; about preserving the uncertain future… but what about our educational systems?
Introducing environmental art into our academic pathway, rather than just being available within an aesthetic paradigm, could potentially captivate the attention and interest of a younger generation: ‘Thinking globally, acting locally’ - a slogan that could instill a collective awareness towards our planet, as well as empower more and more citizens to act responsibly towards Mother Earth.
Jason deCaires Taylor’s projects aim to launch a new era for tourism, one of cultural and environmental awareness, taking into account that our coastal areas are more than tropical palm tree beaches; they are alive and breathing and part of our ecosystem. The underwater sculptures show us that what the eyes see, the heart does feel…
“It’s very much about attracting a different audience and it’s been very successful in that sense. There have been many new people that have been learning to dive, who never considered it. Subsequently, people go on to explore other areas, view other sites. It has been a positive success in redirecting them away from fragile areas. In Mexico, there are around 350,000 people that visit museums each year, so that’s taking a lot of traffic away from natural healthy reefs…”
Oil entering the oceans from oil spills, routing shipping and the controversy around fracking are some of the major issues around the environmental crisis in this day and age. As the artist states:
“I think the tide is turning. More than anything it’s economic reasons – when the government and the state will start banning petrol cars, when they’ll start investing heavily into solar energy, that’s when you realize, they’ve done the mathematics… It’s a reality, it’s unstoppable, it’s like Trump betting on coal, it’s just not marketably viable anymore… There are great opportunities for governments to be at the forefront. In England there’s an opportunity to become one of the leaders of the clean energy revolution from off shore wind and tidal energy, but instead Fracking is desperately trying to squeeze the last drop of oil out of the ground, when there is so much more potential in clean energy. Our political system is severely damaged. Corporations have infiltrated the political atmosphere to such a high degree, that it is completely corrupting the democratic system.”
More and more, we watch artistic, pro-environmentalist projects developing at high speed; foundations such as the Sea Walls, movements, collectives, photographers, campaigners, activists, platforms such as The Earth Issue - all being part of the green movement.
A question I keep pondering is - would people truly be persuaded in acting now, by engaging our emotional side? Are scientific facts so incomprehensible and unattainable, that it is easier to discard, rather than understand them? A lot can be done, as a lot can be learned. It is vital to not fall into the ignorance of people, such as leaders of the free world, to not ignore the facts as they are constantly shown through the media. Listen, read, look around you, act today, and believe that each one of us has the ability to make a difference. I’ve started by speaking the truth, by spreading a message, as I’ll leave you with words of hope from our artist, Jason deCaires Taylor:
“Sometimes the small changes can cascade into massive movements. We have political slogans that in reality don’t mean anything at all, but they’re powerful statements and they engage people. Environmentally, we need to take the same stance, using the same passionate arguments that people have about their country, their rights, and they need to be equally passionate for the environment. The ultimate aim could be, trying to turn environmental slogans into strong statements. And most importantly, don’t just act now, act quickly.”
