Artist brings undersea world to life with surreal reef project

Lots of people have created artificial reefs, using old ships and various debris. But nobody turns them into masterful creations the way artist Jason deCaires Taylor does with his life-sized and almost life-like cement sculptures.
His latest project is the development of an underwater museum within the National Marine Park off Cancun and Isla Mujeres. The final and most ambitious of four stages, nearing completion, is called “The Silent Evolution.” DeCaires Taylor, a Brit, has crafted 400 statues — each of them depicting a local villager — and has already positioned more than 250 of them on the sea floor.

[Video: Surfer records great white sharks circling his board]

The artist today posted a YouTube video of “The Silent Evolution” (also posted above), revealing a surreal seascape in which he captured with vivid reality the moods and expressions of men, women and children, whose immortality will be obscured, over time, by algae, coral and the many fish and marine creatures that will make this new home.

The environmentally-friendly reef, constructed with the cooperation of marine park officials and
the Cancun Nautical Association, will become popular among scuba divers and, as a new attraction, it should relieve some pressure from the area’s more fragile natural reefs.

Take a look and let us know what you think of deCaires’ work.