National Marine Park of Cancun, Mexico

Jason deCaires Taylor’s underwater sculptures form a unique and expansive seascape. His art highlights natural ecological processes. Taylor explores the relationship between art and the environment. His sculptures become reefs, attracting marine life. The shifting ocean floor constantly transforms his work. Below is a small collection of his art. For more pictures and extensive details on each project, the Sifter highly recommends Jason deCaires official site. Enjoy!

JASON DECAIRES TAYLOR: ARTIST BIO

Jason deCaires Taylor embodies many identities, shaped by his eclectic life. Growing up in Europe and Asia sparked his love for exploration. His English father and Guyanese mother nurtured his curiosity. Childhood days on Malaysia’s coral reefs deepened his love for the sea.

Later, he worked as a scuba instructor worldwide, developing interests in conservation and underwater photography. His bond with the ocean remains strong. However, other influences shaped him too. As a teenager, graffiti fueled his passion for public art. This experience directed his formal art training toward environmental expression.

Jason deCaires Taylor graduated in 1998 from the London Institute of Arts with a B.A. Honours in Sculpture and Ceramics. Experience at Canterbury Cathedral taught him traditional stone carving. Five years in set design exposed him to cranes, logistics, and large-scale projects.

These experiences prepared him for his ambitious underwater work. He carved cement instead of stone and supervised cranes in scuba gear to create artificial reefs. His public sculptures blend art and function, fostering positive interactions between people and fragile marine habitats.

Jason de Caires Taylor has gained significant interest and recognition for his unique work, with features in over 1000 publications around the world, including National Geographic, Vogue, USA today, the BBC, and CNN and he has made several TV appearances.

His international reputation was established in May 2006, when he created the world’s first underwater sculpture park in Grenada, West Indies, leading to both private and public commissions. Taylor is currently founder and Artistic Director of the Museo Subacuático del Arte (MUSA) in Cancun, Mexico.

JASON DECAIRES TAYLOR’S ‘VICISSITUDES’

Vicissitudes 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.

JASON DECAIRES TAYLOR’S ‘THE LOST CORRESPONDENT’

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.

ASON DECAIRES TAYLOR’S ‘GARDENER OF HOPE’

La Jardinera de la Esperanza (the gardener of hope), depicts a young girl lying on garden patio steps, cultivating a variety of plant pots. The sculpture is sited four metres beneath the surface Punta Nizuc, Cancun. The pots are propagated with live coral cuttings rescued from areas of the reef system damaged by storms and human activity. This technique, a well-established procedure in reef conservation, rescues damaged coral fragments by providing a suitable new substrate.

The sculpture, a synthesis between art and science, conveys a message of hope and prosperity, portraying human intervention as positive and regenerating. The young Girl symbolizes a new, revitalized kinship with the environment, a role model for future generations.The interaction between the inanimate and living forms highlights a potential symbiotic relationship with the life systems of the underwater world. Over the past few decades we have lost over 40% of our natural coral reefs. Scientists predict a permanent demise of 80% by 2050. The Gardner of Hope is designed to focus attention on this important, often forgotten, ecological issue. Built into the base of the sculpture are specialized habitat spaces designed to encourage individual types of marine creatures such as moray eels, juvenile fish and lobsters.

via twistedsifter