An unexpected legacy of the hurricanes
and tropical storms that have
struck Grenada’s coastline in recent
years has been the construction of
the world’s first underwater sculpture
park. Shocked by the damage to the
reefs, British sculptor and diver Jason
de Caires Taylor, 33, was moved to give
nature a helping hand by installing
an artificial reef on the sea bed at Molinere
Bay just north of capital town
St George’s. Reefs the world over are
desperately endangered and installing
artificial ones helps to provide a habitat
for marine life and allow corals to grow
and develop naturally. I had heard all
sorts of comments about these sculptures.
Most of the pieces are fashioned
from bodycasts the artist took of local
people and were inspired by Grenadian
history and folk tales. “Eerie,’’ said
one person I spoke to. “Why?’’ said
another. “Fantastic,’’ someone else remarked.
I was fascinated by this work
but I didn’t know what to expect.
First of all I couldn’t find it. I was
expecting signposts, like a notice
saying “sculpture park here’’ with a
big arrow. We sailed up and down a
few times until we found the rocky
little cove with a tiny beach in the
corner. There is nothing theme park
or Disney about this place. You have
to interact with it and go and find the
sculptures yourself, which all adds to
the adventure.
I slipped into the water and swam
up and down searching, not really
knowing what I was looking for. Then
I floated into a shoal of tiny fish; I
parted my hands sending a ripple of
shimmering bubbles aside and there
it was about 15 feet below me—a dark
indistinct figure kneeling all alone on
the ocean bed. It was Sienna. When I
looked closer I could see she was made
of wire. She is a character from a story
who was able to dive to great depths.
She was taken advantage of by hunters
for sunken treasure and her story ends
in tragedy and betrayal.
Further off lie the figures which make
Grace Reef, all cast from the body of
a Grenadian woman named Grace.
They lie scattered in the sand like
huge heavy ingots. There are 16 but I
couldn’t spot them all because sometimes
they become hidden as the sand
washes over them.
I really wanted to see The Lost Correspondent
and I eventually found it
deep down in between two dark rocks.
A man sits at a desk, empty except
for an old manual typewriter. It had
a sense of humour about it and it is a
comment on how rapidly communication
has changed. When it was made,
the top of the desk was laminated with
old newspaper articles about Grenada’s
political history. Over the months it
has been down there, the stories have
become obliterated by the build-up of
silt.
de Caires Taylor chose this material so
that marine life could easily adhere
to the surface and grow—just like
children.
And then I found La Diablesse. This
was the figure that someone had told
me was so eerie that she didn’t want
to see it. Now I can see why. In herdeep and dark watery ravine she looks
sinister. In French, her name means
She Devil and she comes from an old
Caribbean folktale. The fish swam in
and out of the rib bones of her skeletal
body. Her face is hidden under a widebrimmed
hat. When she was made she
had eye sockets but now they are filled
with sea plants. Her skirts are weeds
flowing in the water like petticoats.
The photographs on de Caires Taylor’s
website that document the various
states of transformation as the sculptures
change from their original
pristine state and gradually return to
nature are fascinating to see, and it is
surprising just how much they have
altered in less than a year. This otherworldly
experience is equally rewarding
for the casual snorkeller and the
scuba diver. Floating weightlessly in
the warm clear water above this astonishing
installation, senses distorted by
being submerged, the fragile beauty of
our underwater world is revealed. |
