Jason deCaires Taylor has created more than 1,000 sculptures around the world, most of which are located on the seabed in places like the Gulf of Mexico, the fjords of Norway, or the Great Barrier Reef.
This sculpture exhibition, titled “The Forest Under the Sea”, is located at a depth of 8-10 m, about 200 m from the Ayia Napa resort (Cyprus). Through 93 works, Jason deCaires Taylor sends a message about the relationship between humans and nature.
Children are depicted playing in the woods, pointing their cameras at humanity, hoping for a future where the magic of nature will return.
More than just art, Jason deCaires Taylor’s sculptures are designed to recreate habitats for marine life. Each sculpture is made from pH-neutral materials to prevent negative impacts on the environment. They will serve as a new home for marine life that has been depleted over the past decades. Over time, the sculptures will be covered in marine biomass and will provide a haven for marine life.
Jason deCaires Taylor carried out this project within the framework of a "green" art movement, which aims to make works interact with the surrounding space in a different way.
Jason deCaires Taylor's seabed sculptures are also a way to examine the impact of humans on the natural environment, with ecosystems losing diversity and climate change.
The exhibition layout resembles a path through a dense underwater jungle.
Sharing about this unique underwater exhibition, Marine Argyrou, Director of the Department of Marine and Fisheries Research, said that Jason's artworks will contribute to the development of biodiversity in the area: "The underwater museum will be an ecological experience and an area to admire living sculptures, with artworks interacting with nature, evolving over time and I am sure it will bring people closer to the marine environment as well as the conservation and protection of our marine ecosystems."
