PORTAL TO THE UNDERWATER WORLD
Artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s most recent project is the first of its kind, illustrating how art can be used in ocean conservation
SITUATED in the centre of the largest developed coral lagoon in the Maldives, a semi-submerged tidal gallery space has become a protective space for Nature to colonise and seek refuge. The sculptural work, Coralarium, conceptualised by artist Jason deCaires Taylor, is the world’s first semi-submerged art gallery, requiring visitors to swim or snorkel to experience it.
The cube-shaped building has its front façade submerged up to a median tide of three metres. The design of the walls is based on natural coral structures, with its porous design allowing the tides, current and marine life to pass through it. Inside the structure, 14 sculptures can be found; some completely submerged, others high above the waterline, with the majority hovering in mid-water, interacting with both the marine and the terrestrial world.
“It’s almost like an inverse zoo… the tourists are in the cage and the marine life come and go as they look at us. It’s almost like a reversal in how we interact with wildlife” Jason deCaires Taylor
The sculptures themselves are hybrid forms – part-human, part-plant, part-coral. The human figures are intertwined with natural elements, some with corals growing out of them, others with roots entangled around their limbs. The natural elements are inspired by endemic species of the island and its surrounding reefs: banyan trees, screw pines, strangler ivy, mushrooms, and staghorn corals.
“The idea of this is about taking all the different elements of our planet and showing that everything is connected. We are all interdependent, and that is a fundamental aspect of the installation,” says deCaires Taylor.
This concept extends to the roof of the building, where a series of black silhouetted sculptures occupy the space between the sky above and the sea below, connecting the two worlds. In the underwater realm, a series of children look up towards the sea, with the intent of addressing the threat of climate change, rising sea levels, and the consequences for future generations.
Before one can enjoy the main exhibition, a 150-metre swim through a long pathway takes visitors to the installation. Lined with underwater poplar trees and endemic planted corals, the pathway is marked by an underwater coral pavement where corals have been cut and replanted to propagate the pavement. From the shallows to the underwater realm, this path is a symbolic connection to another world.
“The installation will never be the same on each day,” says the sculptor. “You could go there one day and the level of water will be a certain median, and on a different day it will be colonised or shaped by Nature another way. It is certainly an interchangeable gallery and an evolving space.”