GrrlScientistScience This article is more than 13 years oldSilent Evolution in Cancún, Mexico
This article is more than 13 years oldHypothesis: creating an underwater sculpture will relieve tourist pressure on nearby coral reefs whilst providing new habitat that encourages establishment of yet more coral reefsBritish artist and sculptor, Jason de Caires Taylor, has created a huge underwater sculpture, "The Silent Evolution", that is being installed in the National Marine Park of Punta Cancún, Isla de Mujeres and Punta Nizuc. This sculpture weighs over 120 tons and is comprised of 400 individual statues cast from local Mexican people, representing a cross section of society.
The goals of this sculpture are twofold: first, this sculpture is easily accessible to snorkelers and divers so it will ease pressures on the nearby natural reefs that are visited by 750,000 tourists every year. Second, this installation will provide the basis for a coral reef-like ecosystem that will attract a variety of aquatic creatures to the Cancún and Isla Mujeres National Marine Park. It is made from a special cement that is 10 times harder than the normal kind and it has a neutral PH (favourable to corals), and the statues are anchored to a barren rocky seabed 10 meters below the water's surface.
Below the jump is a short video trailer that captures the installation of the first three pieces of "The Silent Evolution." These placements mark the opening of the new Cancún and Isla de Mujeres underwater Museum, which will be completed this year.
Here's an informative interview with the sculptor, Mr Taylor, about his earlier work:
How does Mr Taylor make these sculptures and place them into their final position? This time-lapse video captures the process:
Coral reefs are constructed of calcium carbonate secreted by the bodies of countless numbers of tiny marine animals. Often known as the "rainforests of the sea", coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth. They are surrounded by nutrient-poor ocean waters, yet they provide food and shelter for roughly 25 percent of all marine animal species, including fish, molluscs, worms, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates and other cnidarians.
The coral reefs that most people are familiar with are found in shallow tropical waters, but they can be found in cold or deep water as well. Even though coral reefs occupy less than one tenth of one percent of the world's ocean surface (roughly the same area as Norway), they are one of the most endangered marine ecosystems in the world. Currently, 10 percent of the world's coral reefs are already dead and another 60 percent are at risk due to destructive, human-related activities, including ocean acidification and increasing water temperatures due to global warming, as well as agricultural and urban runoff, pollution, overfishing and a variety of other threats.
Jason de Caires Taylor has a BA Honours in Sculpture and Ceramics from the London Institute of Arts, and he is keenly interested in the dynamic relationship between art and the environment. He is an avid SCUBA diver and has lived throughout Europe and Asia. Mr Taylor created the world's first underwater sculpture park in Grenada, West Indies, and is currently the founder and Artistic Director of the Museo Subacuático del Arte (MUSA) in Cancún, Mexico.
All video courtesy of Jason de Caires Taylor. Mr Taylor has a website, underwater sculpture, filled with more information, photographs and video that you will enjoy.
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