Underwater Art Museum In Australia Is The Ultimate Summer Destination

Jason deCaires Taylor is a sculptor, but he prefers to show his works in the ocean over any museum. A celebrated 16-year career has led to inventive underwater sculpture parks under his purview around the world, from a hurricane relief showcase in the island of Grenada to the Fjords of Norway. With thousands of works underwater behind him, this year deCaires Taylor tackled John Brewer Reef in Australia, displaying figures in and around the local Coral Greenhouse. This latest project is called the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA).

The eight sculptures in the initial MOUA series depict humans who have contributed positively to oceanic preservation, provoking dialogue with the scientific community, named the Ocean Sentinels. Examples include Dr. David Vaughan, founder of Plant a Million Corals, Professor John Charlie Veron, who aims to collect and preserve 400 species of coral, and Molly Steer, who at nine years old strove to eliminate plastic straws in Australian schools with Straw No More. DeCaires Taylor has often included local activists and figures in his work. In this instance, he was intentional in his inclusion of Indigenous leader Jayme Marshall, a Wulgurukaba and Yunbenen representative to continue the deep and ancient connection between the local community and the sea.

DeCaires Taylor designed the sculptures for sustainability and effective stimulation of the ocean floor in collaboration with the local marine life specialists, ensuring the fish and coral are comfortable to intentionally populate in and around the works. The heavy concrete used, between one and four tons, is “earth friendly” pH neutral cement according to press materials, built to last as the coral, sponges, and other creatures colonize them in a developing field known as reef gardening. Shipped to the MOUA from the artist’s studio in the United Kingdom, they are anchored with low centers of gravity to the ocean floor using corrosion-resistant steel to hold up against changing marine conditions.

The figures are anchored at an intentionally shallow location to encourage snorkeling tourism, reachable by a two-hour boat ride from nearby Townsville. Many more figures, called Reef Guardians, are housed at The Coral Greenhouse, a controlled area so as not to disturb other preserved sections of the reef.

As important as it is for the ocean to be the power player in the showcase, the human interaction to spark dialogue and wonder is almost as significant. The Ocean Sentinels and Reef Guardians, seasoned and semi-permanent though they are, seek to encourage everyone to become one. The iNaturalist app allows visitors to upload their photos of the “underwater experience” with the John Brewer MOUA project on the iNaturalist platform to continue to contribute to the understanding of the evolution of the ocean floor, and as such, marine science overall as a “citizen scientist”.

DeCaires may be manipulating the ocean floor, but the ultimate message is that no one can conquer the natural world. Rather, humans are at the ocean’s mercy, whether consciously or unconsciously dependent on the world’s water ways for human life. However visitors or viewers relate to the showcase, the essential ingredient to the artist’s message is humility.

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