Sculptures are often found in museums, or within huge, wide open parks where people can walk around them, touch them, and really get a sense of what they’re all about. Sometimes they’re found in the lobbies of towering skyscrapers, or the foyers of densely packed office buildings, or even in the homes of wealthy collectors, eager to show off their newest piece. This is where we expect to find sculpture; this is where we think people will appreciate it.
Not beneath the sea.
But that’s where you’ll find some of Jason deCaires Taylor’s best work. Indeed, beneath twelve feet of pristine Cancun seawater, a hop skip and a jump away from the National Marine Park located off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Taylor’s PH neutral, concrete sculpture dominates the landscape…er, seascape.
The concrete, combined with broken shards of coral from damaged reefs nearby, serves not only as the principal element in Taylor’s beautiful underwater sculpture, but also as an artificial reef for literally scores of sea animals. Add to that the fact that over 750,000 swimmers, divers, and snorkelers visit the National Marine Park every year—a boon for the economy but a burden on the ecosystem—and you have yourself a nice little diversion that alleviates some of the burden, yet still entertains the hundreds of thousands of tourists that visit the shores of Cancun every year.
American Fine Arts Foundry – AFA 