A forest of underwater sculptures in Cyprus: it's the latest work by Jason deCaires Taylor

Called MUSAN, or Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa, it is the latest initiative of British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor (Dover, 1974), who specializes in creating underwater sculptures. Having created underwater works in Australia, the Maldives, France, and several other parts of the world, now Taylor has just days ago inaugurated his new museum, which is located 200 meters offshore from the town of Ayia Napa, a tourist resort in eastern Cyprus known for its beaches. Here, in the depths of the sea, Taylor has installed 93 sculptures resting directly on the seabed: some depict people (mostly children), others trees and plants. Among the sculptures is a group entitled The Underwater Forest, a true underwater forest intended to be the first of its kind in the world.

The works, and particularly those depicting trees, Taylor explained, are designed to attract marine life: they have therefore been placed at various depths on the seafloor with the intention of attracting different plant and animal species and have been arranged with the clear intention of resembling a real forest. In addition, some of the trees will float just below the surface so that the entire structure provides a complex environment for marine life at all levels. As is often the case with Taylor’s art, the works are linked to urgent topical meanings. In fact, MUSAN has been installed in an expanse of sand within a marine protected area. The sculptural forest will attract a wide variety of marine flora and fauna because, the artist reminds us, the presence of flora and fauna in the Mediterranean has declined in recent years, and consequently his is intended as a kind of contribution to repopulation.

The works also include sculptures depicting children playing. These, Taylor explains, “remind us of our need for the natural world as a place to explore, discover and ignite our imaginations. Over the past 50 years, children have become increasingly excluded from the wild places that once existed. Children, camera in hand as they play hide-and-seek in the woods, point their lenses toward the human race. They hope for a future in which the mystery and magic of nature will return. The need to revive our oceans is as urgent as the need to reestablish our connection with the natural world.”

All of Jason de Caires Taylor’s works are part of an eco-art movement in which the artwork interacts with its surroundings and evolves in unpredictable ways. There is no end product, the artist explains, “but an ever-evolving seascape. Eventually the work of nature will supplant the work of the artist. Carved trees and children playing with each other will be consumed and colonized by marine biomass, providing food and shelter for a variety of creatures, but most importantly reminding us that we ourselves belong to nature.” MUSAN will be accessible to divers and snorkelers, and its presence is marked by a small jetty on the beach.

Below are some images of Jason deCaires Taylor’s MUSAN.

Jason deCaires Taylor’s MUSAN.

Jason deCaires Taylor’s MUSAN

The MUSAN of Jason deCaires Taylor

The MUSAN of Jason deCaires Taylor

The MUSAN of Jason deCaires Taylor

A forest of underwater sculptures in Cyprus: it's the latest work by Jason deCaires Taylor

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