What’s not to like about the work of Jason deCaires Taylor? The 37-year-old sculptor, raised in England, Spain and Malaysia, has found a way to blend a love of diving and coral reefs with his art — which he crafts on dry land and then lowers into the seas, where, he says, it diverts divers who might otherwise spend too much time poking at fragile reefs. The sculptures themselves, with time, end up as homes for corals, sponges and other marine life.
Rodrigo Cruz for The New York Times The sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor in Puerto Morelos, Mexico.I learned of his work through a fascinating feature in The Times today by Randal Archibold, which focuses on an installation, called the Museo Subacuático de Arte, in shallow waters off Cancún, Mexico. As the article notes, some reef researchers see little merit in Taylor’s argument that the art helps protect the natural reefs, noting that the prime threat is sewage and runoff from resorts along the shores (related article).
But I find the broader reading of his work (see the captivating and disturbing series on the Anthropocene, for instance) more than makes up for any downside.
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