Good Gear & Gadgets - Artificial Reef

In this spectacular underwater display British- born artist Jason deCaires Taylor creates evolution at its finest.  The 400 plus individual statues serve as an artificial reef for marine life off the coast of Cancun, Mexico.  Based off people in the local community, the statues depict every member of society from an 87 year old nun to a three year old boy.  The artist created a way for people to view, enjoy, and notice our responsibility to the environment.

Natural coral reefs create a home, refuge, and living for many types of marine life such as colorful fish, turtles, sea urchins, sponges, and sharks.  Many depend on the reef and its enclosed spaces to live.  However, only about 10-16% of the ocean floor has a solid enough substratum to allow reefs to form naturally.  In addition to the limited amount of reefs, many of them have been over-fished and over-visited killing off the marine life that live within them.  Artificial reefs have become the solution in order to increase the amount of reefs on the sea bed and subsequently give the natural reefs time to regenerate.  The artificial reefs are created from materials that are durable, secure, and environmentally sensitive.  They have proven to be successful in attracting coral growth which can support a marine ecosystem.

So in turn deCaires has created an underwater city stating “Within weeks, sea worms were drilling holes in the sculptures.”  He has created a work of art that becomes a living, breathing, habitat-saving reef, all according to plan.  Snorkelers, scuba divers, and glass bottom boaters can all view the statues.

You can find out more about deCaire’s silent evolution as well as view a whole gallery of breathtaking photos at underwatersculpture.com.  Like him on facebook to get more recent updates of his latest work http://ht.ly/3w5Pv.

Pictures from underwatersculpture.com