Jason de Caires Taylor is an artist that creates unique underwater sculptures that focus on natural ecological processes.

He has a series of work called Vicissitudes that "depicts a circle of figures, all linked through holding hands. These are life-size casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic background. Circular in structure and located five meters below the surface, the work both withstands strong currents and replicates one of the primary geometric shapes, evoking ideas of unity and continuum.”

“The sculpture proposes growth, chance, and natural transformation. It shows how time and environment impact on and shape the physical body. Children by nature are adaptive to their surroundings. Their use within the work highlights the importance of creating a sustainable and well-managed environment, a space for future generations. Taylor notes that close to forty percent of coral reefs worldwide has been destroyed and that this figure is set to increase. His work reminds us that the marine environment is in a constant state of flux, and that this in turn reflects poignantly the vicissitudes, changing landscapes, of our own lives.”

Grace Reef consists of sixteen figures cast from the body of a Grenadian woman. These figures are located across a large area of the ocean floor and depicts the continuing evolution of the island and its people. Sometimes with the currents in the ocean, some of the sculptures become hidden or covered and at other times the figures emerge and are highly visible.

"The Lost Correspondent depicts a man sitting at a desk with a typewriter. The desk is covered with a collection of newspaper articles and cuttings that date back to the 1970s. Many of these have political significance, a number detail Grenada’s alignment with Cuba in the period immediately prior to the revolution. The work informs the rapid changes in communication between generations. Taking the form of a traditional correspondent, the lone figure becomes little more than a relic, a fossil in a lost world."

It’s like a haunted house under the water. I love the idea that nature changes these sculptures to give them a totally different look than what they once were. These sculptures are full of mystery, just like the ocean. My favorite is the Lost Correspondent, mainly because sometimes I just feel like sitting at the bottom of the ocean, too.

Many thanks to Jason de Caires Taylor!