Artists Plunge Under the Sea

Artists take their work out into the streets and into the water to make a difference in the world.

A new trend among some sculptors as the “Creators Project” has them placing their statues underwater in an effort to build artificial reefs.

One artist, Jason deCaires Taylor, said in a TedTalks that he thinks it’s a matter of the ocean being “out of sight, out of mind.” Because people don’t see how their actions affect it like they might with land pollution, they think nothing of what they dump into the waters.

Several of the works placed on the ocean floor are made with a pH neutral surface. This means that the statues’ chemical makeup won’t pollute or haphazardly affect whatever plant and animal life encounter it.

DeCaires Taylor added that the living works of art that make up these artificial reefs can help distract tourists from natural reefs. The fewer people gives them a chance to grow and heal more quickly.

The Creators Project itself includes the actual placing of the sculptures, as well as video recording and editing of the reefs’ progress. You can watch bare ladies turn into women clothed in the most colorful of dresses with flora and fauna accessories to match.

The project doesn’t stop there, though. Members of this project aim to celebrate art across multiple disciplines and taking advantage of technology in their art. One such piece is an art exhibit inside the radioactive zone Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster.

This project started in 2009 and has expanded to become a global phenomenon with more than 600 creators from around the world. In a new twist life, art and technology combine — instead of taking their first steps out of the water, the Creators Project plunges us back into the sea.