2019-12-01 The Artist\'s Magazine

84 Artists Magazine December 2019

Must-see museum exhibitions

DO

NOW

Australia

MUSEUM OF

UNDERWATER ART

GREAT BARRIER REEF, AUSTRALIA

UNDERWATERSCULPTURE.COM

OPENS TO PUBLIC DECEMBER 2019

(ONGOING)

The Museum of Underwater Art is

actually a collection of “galleries,”

both on shore and underwater,

located throughout Townsville,

Magnetic Island, Palm Island and the

Great Barrier Reef region—all in and

off the coast of Australia. Artist Jason

deCaires Taylor has been setting up

these underwater art museums for

years and had previously created them

in Grenada, the Maldives, Norway,

Mexico and many other locations.

They’re composed of sculptures made

by deCaires Taylor, which eventually,

due to the neutral pH concrete

medium, become living structures,

that create a sort of underwater

botanical garden.

The underwater museum set to

open in December in Australia is a

first for deCaires Taylor in that the art

shown will include both intertidal

works and fully submerged sculpture,

so visitors can walk on the beach to

participate, or they can snorkel or

scuba dive to view the full exhibition.

It’s also a monumental moment for

the Great Barrier Reef, as these are

the first sculptures ever to be placed

within the incredibly biodiverse region.

Museum representatives explain,

“The museum seeks to encourage

environmental awareness, increase

knowledge of marine ecosystems and

help instigate social change, whilst

leading visitors to appreciate the

breathtaking natural beauty of the

Great Barrier Reef.”

Coral bleaching due to rising sea

temperatures has killed off more than

half of all the Great Barrier Reef ’s

coral since 2016. Decaires Taylor

hopes to make an impact on those

numbers. “The first installation will

be a coastal-based, solar-powered

sculpture of a young indigenous girl

issuing a warning about rising sea

temperatures,” the museum shares.

“Using live temperature data from

active sites on the Great Barrier Reef,

the outer layer of the sculpture will

change color in response to changes

in water temperature, creating a

visual representation of live

conditions underwater.”

ABOVE

Underwater Coral

Nursery

LEFT

digital rendition of a

future underwater coral

greenhouse

BELOW

Submerged Statue