Jason De Caires
12.16.08 | Posted in: Art & Design | By: Kellis LandrumTags: Experimental Projects, Fine Art, Jason De Caires, Sculpture
Under most circumstances, nature will destroy anything man made over time. But Mexican artist Jason De Caires creates beautiful underwater sculptural pieces which are strengthened by the coral, algae, and marine life that grow on them.
These pieces are created on land, transported by boat, and carefully submerged into shallow areas of water that can be viewed by snorkeling. Larger works (like the one shown above) are made in pieces and are bolted to the ocean floor.
We caught a very interesting interview with De Caires at Don’t Panic, and if you like these pics as much as we do it’s definitely worth a read.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
This is one of the most intriguing, beautiful, haunting, and original works I’ve seen in a long time. I love it.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
that is maddness would love to see them,that`s crazy.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Can you just imagine, if you didn’t know they were there, and then went snorkeling in the area?
This is amazing but I’m sure its scared more than one person.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:18 am
This is awesome, the artist is creating future wonders. One day when we have forgotten about them and passed on they will be rediscovered and they will wonder why they are there. He is creating a modern Stonehenge.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I sure the sharks love the visitors.. lol
kool work !!
January 6th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
amazing but I’m sure its scared,too
January 6th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Wanda K: THIS IS SPARTA!!!!
January 7th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
he is not mexican…!
i wish he would!
January 7th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
were..not would jajaja (or whatever..) sorry… i am mexican…soooo disculpen mi ingles..
January 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Indeed, this is a truly evolving piece of art and a bit of brilliance on his part. The close-up on the face is very cool.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
It’s very asthetically pleasing, but I hate the idea of putting anything (even art) into the ocean that doesn’t need to be there. I think it’s more beautiful without our interference.
January 9th, 2009 at 6:56 am
Mary:
I’ve thought about your point, and I agree in principle. On the other hand, I see a sort of beauty in the (theoretically) non-disruptive involvement of nature in artwork. So long as the habitat is not being too manipulated and such art is not commonplace, it may show a sort of respect for nature to collaborate with it, if you will. Determining what makes people take certain attitudes is difficult–conceivably, the idea of harmonious collaboration with nature could be a platform for changing many views on, say, drilling on the ocean floor, etc.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Matt,
Thank you for putting that in a new light! I appreciate this piece a lot more after reading your comment!
January 10th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Wow, I hate artisits sometimes. It just seems effortless to them. Los Angeles is full of artists with that kind of capability.
January 10th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
The comment about “harmonious collaboration with nature” was well spoken. I very much agree. We’re meant to work with nature not against it and this is just combining our perception of beauty with nature’s.
January 11th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Keep in mind it is anchors such as those that can become the beginnings of a coral reef.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I have met this artist while living in Grenada, which is where this artwork is located. He is not mexican, as was commented on previously. There are quite a few other sculptures there…which can be seen at http://www.underwatersculpture.com.
While diving in Grenada…dive with Dive Grenada!
January 12th, 2009 at 9:33 am
oops…fixed link
http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/gallery/underwater-gallery/index.htm
January 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Imagine what they’ll say in 2000 years when they find it?
“We believe this was an ancient burial ground of the 26 maidens of De Caires.”
January 12th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I’m sad to see he has entire sculpture parks! I was happy accepting it as a rare peice collaborating with nature. I still think these places would be more beautiful without concrete humans and tables and plates in them.
And coral reefs are endangered because of too much sediment in the water, not because they are lacking roots to grow on. So he’s not really promoting coral reef recovery. Especially his peice in Crete, which is almost too far north for coral reef to even grow.
It seems egotistical to think that our idea of beauty and art belongs everywhere and can enhance nature’s beauty.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
ah! i would love to sit in the middle as if meditating without gear of course and have someone take a pic of me with these wonderful creations.
truly amazing! this is going on my to do list.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Mary, I actually completely understand what you’re saying. We as people always think we’re entitled to be better than nature or try to improve it. Thats great that you think that way because there are way to many people that do not. I, for some reason, at the same time cannot help but get this romantic idea out of my head that his collaboration with nature all over the world is still beautiful. I dont know, maybe it is in many aspects environmentally “wrong” or egotistical. But something about it still just strikes me as us trying to work with nature since its part of us and we are part of it.
Just thoughts though. To each their own, eh?
P.S. (My name is Mary too)
January 14th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
The fish that see this are going to need therapists. Does anyone know the effects on underwater ecology under post traumatic stress disorder, lol. Pretty creepy thing goin on there, I love it though.
January 15th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
sick stuff
January 16th, 2009 at 10:59 am
i would fuck these things up with a baseball bat. i hate stupid motherfuckers who litter in the ocean. what a bitch.
January 16th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
that reminds me of that movie cabin by the lake, with judd nelson.
January 16th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
donttazemebro:
Hahaha! Thank you!
January 16th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Mary, shush.
i am an environmentalist and an artist.
there are no obvious negative effects on the environment around the pieces, unless he used a particularly harmful material to make it. it doesn’t pollute, hurt the creatures in the sea, or get in their way. if it has been found to harm them, it should be removed (and placed in an art gallery, as it has been made all the more intresting by the effects of the sea on it).
I think its intresting.
January 17th, 2009 at 3:42 am
Found your blog just now– very cool!
January 17th, 2009 at 4:59 am
On quite a few occasions, old ships and boats have been deliberately sunk to form the base of a reef. While im not to keen on that idea, I think that if it is done in a way that doesnt harm the wildlife then it cant be a bad thing. Perhaps its the least we can do after years of destruction caused by boats, fishing and holiday makers to the wildlife that was already here before we were on the scene. While i understand and have enjoyed reading everyones views on the subject, i personaly like it. Both as a piece of art and the possible beginings of life for the animals.
January 17th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
beeeeeuuuutiful
January 17th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Kelfaerie, it’s hardly appropriate to tell someone to shush. I haven’t been disrespectful of anyone’s opinions.
Anyway, I agree that it’s interesting and I’ve already stated that I think it’s pretty. The main point I’ve been trying to make is that, although it is pretty, I think it takes away from the ocean’s natural beauty. I’m an advocate of Leave No Trace and tread gently. One of the things that makes the ocean so beautiful is that it’s an entire ecosystem that thrives on life competely different from ourselves. I think it’s a natural but negative human impulse to leave our mark everywhere we go.
I doubt very much that it is harmful to the environment around it. I also doubt that it is contributing to saving coral reef, as his website implies, as coral reef isn’t lacking places to grow. That was simply a counter argument.
January 18th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Point well made Mary.
Can i Just say that in the Philippines for example. 70% of the reefs have been destroyed and only 5% can be said to be in good health. the more i read this blog, the more im finding i dont like the piece but i stick with my view that perhaps being a piece of art will help to ensure the survival of the wildlife that over time will come to call it home. While the ocean is large, we have to take into account the criteria needed for a reef to form and while these are over time affected by humans both in the water and on land then if placing something there to help in the long run ( which has been proven to work) then surely that is not so bad. I agree that we should not interfere but perhaps we have messed things up so much now that we have no choice but to step in and try and make up for our downfalls before there is nothing left to save.
Can i just ask. If we were to do something similar as an attempt to save what is there and encourage future growth but it was not done under the guise of a piece of art. Would it seem so bad then?
January 18th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Good point, Enzo. It was silly of me to even bring coral reef into my argument against the piece — in the long run it is a positive contribution to regrowth. I have really been going back and forth on the sculpture. I feel like it is sometimes admirable and sometimes disgusting.
I really appreciate that it has sparked so much conversation.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Destined to become like the Easter Island heads? Imagine a century or two from now if there were no records what people would think and wonder about this sculpture.
I love this piece – absolutely wonderful.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
merhaba iyi güzel tamam
January 20th, 2009 at 1:51 am
It is realy fantastic. So creative and beautiful.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:57 am
TEAM MARY!!
I think this work of art is amazing, but I don’t think it should be left there forever. The idea that future people are gonna find it and think it’s cool is kind of lame. I think it’d be better if we left the ocean alone. Let it sit there for a while and then put it in a museum.
January 21st, 2009 at 8:52 am
Do you mean lame like how we find cave paintings around the world from long dead civilizations? Or do you mean lame like how we find shipwrecks, art, gold, pots, statues etc at the bottom of the sea?
January 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I think this is very intriuging. Can you imagine our world ending and the next beginning and some being comes along and tries to find out why these people turned to stone and what story they have to tell… Hey, it could happen.
January 25th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Fantastic, thanks you for the pics
January 30th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
interesting piece. You could interpret as a commentary on human nature. Humans are constantly trying to “leave their mark” on the world, striving for perfection and beauty, and ultimately imposing on nature. But in the end nature fights back and overtakes human will, creating something more beautiful and completely different from what the humans intentions where. Very interesting.
February 1st, 2009 at 4:19 am
Believe me , Only such people will allow our far future generations to let them know that we were there
just as we discover ancient cities n sculptures,
This is STUPENDOUS.
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Am I the only one that sees Will Turner in that pic?
March 26th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
That is amazing! I love it…
June 25th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
[...] from here [...]
June 28th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
[...] 1. This is so cool. [...]
July 7th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Very Eerie…
July 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
[...] De Caires creative underwater sculptural pieces. These are [...]
October 7th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
WOW! It evokes so many feelings, all of them good. What a wonderfully unique & thought provoking piece of work. Would love to see it for real, a beautiful gift, from nature, to nature
Love it.
October 17th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Strange but in a nice way, its art.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Do we have to leave a human mark EVERWHERE we go??
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 pm
i wonder if a future generation will notice the bonds that secure the figures to each other and think that perhaps they are part of the artistic depiction of humanity… expressing not unity in freedom but unity in bondage… impossible to know but equally probable as the notion that the artist’s intent will be realized by someone who has no idea of why it was necessary to use handcuffs to secure figures to a fixed position underwater (when perhaps there are more aesthetically unobtrusive ways of achieving that effect in his/her day and age)
January 13th, 2010 at 2:14 am
The statue looks great, shame little people will see it for real…
February 26th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Mary and others: I understand where you are coming from, but I’m a little confused on one point. As human beings, we tend to assume that we are better than the other parts of nature around us. We are mentally divorced from our own animal natures. We tend to think that we can hurt “nature” without hurting ourselves. This is because we see ourselves as separate from nature. If we opened our eyes and recognized that we are a part of nature, no greater than any other part, we would not have this egotistical view.
That being said, this does not mean that human beings do not have the ability to contribute beauty to nature. Human art is not “artificial” or “unnatural.” It is a natural aspect of human existence. If we are to accept, as I said above, that humans are equal members of the community of nature, then we must also accept that our human art is part of that natural communal beauty. The ocean is a part of our lives, and we have just as much a right to leave our mark on it as do the fish and dolphins and whales; we share it. As long as we are not disturbing or harming the life on the ocean floor, what problem is there with our putting our marks of loving expression in their midst? Are we not, at least, equal partners with animals in this world?
I think the tendency of environmentalists is to think of humans as intruders in an otherwise “natural” world: a kind of apologetic self-loathing. In fact, we are a part of that nature, and most everything we do is “natural.” Being of higher cognition, we should always be wary of how our behavior could be harming our environment, since we rely on it for survival. However, that does not mean we are not allowed to express ourselves in meaningful ways within the community of nature. A picture of nature without human beings is an incomplete one. Let us not, in the midst of our countless errors, forget that we are a part of the natural community of life.
February 26th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
So I guess my “confusion” was just a question:
Are you saying that human beings have no place in nature? Because if so, it seems you are ideologically closer to the environmentally destructive humans than you think….
March 15th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
ooh, becky’s clever. someone’s been to university!
April 2nd, 2010 at 3:01 am
I wonder what an alien species would think, if they discovered this, years after the disappearance of humans? They might think we were amphibians!
It is breathtaking. 
May 4th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Yeah, beautiful. But I’ve fucking stumbled it like a gazillion times already. Sucks
June 8th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Good luck everybody! – I will come back again. Are you on facebook or twitter? Will like to follow you.
November 17th, 2010 at 10:44 am
[...] for reef based tourism and conservation, the Cancun Marine Park partnered with British sculptor Jason De Caires Taylor to create the first underwater sculpture museum. As the co-founder and Artistic Director of the [...]
February 15th, 2011 at 7:19 am
I love the work that Jason De Caires produces. It is so unique and they are al so special! He definatly inspires me with some of my own pantings! WELL DONE
and thanks
from sarah, mary, hannah and ryan xoxo
February 17th, 2011 at 8:15 am
You dealt with a number of interesting things in this article. I found this article by searching Bing and I have to confess that I am now subscribed to your blog site, it is quite fine (;
November 27th, 2011 at 11:08 am
Last pic……………………WE ARE THE BORG
April 29th, 2012 at 10:23 am
you should not post THAT!!!!!! that is nasty i am going to call the police!! do not do that ever again!!!
May 21st, 2012 at 3:36 pm
theae things are so beautiful! i would love to see one up close!
November 1st, 2012 at 3:44 pm
[...] This is amazing. Thanks to Neu Black for bringing this to our attention with its usual elegance.The ocean may be less explored by humans than outer space, but thanks to Jason De Caires’ dedication to viewable underwater art, this may change. Amazing. Jason De Caires has his own website, check it out. This entry was posted in This used to be a travel blog. by bananor. Bookmark the permalink. [...]