Jason-deCaires-Taylor--The-ocean-is-like-a-state-of-consciousness--Its-like-walking-through-a-door-into-another-world

Jason deCaires Taylor: "The ocean is like a state of consciousness. It's like walking through a door into another world."

"The Raft of Lampedusa", Lanzarote ©Jason deCaires Taylor

Jason deCaires Taylor: "The ocean is like a state of consciousness. It's like walking through a door into another world."

There's news from acclaimed British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor. His latest series are land-based artworks using a novel technique of pouring melted aluminium into rapidly cooling tanks of water. The sculptures appear extraordinarily transformed by an interplay of entropic explosions and coraline caverns. There is also the documentary film "UNDER", which shows the artist's underwater eco-museum on the coast of Sainte-Marguerite Island in Cannes, as well as an insight into the artistic process of creating the underwater sculptures. In addition, Jason deCaires Taylor has been appointed Ambassador of the Arts in Cannes.

How did it all begin? Jason deCaires Taylor has travelled the world's oceans since childhood. He is both a diver and a sculptor and so it all came together " Like walking through a door into another world. A different state of mind." Soon, however, he realised the environmental dimension of his work. "The older I get, the more I try to contribute to changing politics with my work."

7. August 2023

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Name: Jason deCaires Taylor

Education: London Institute of Arts with a BA Honours in Sculpture

Occupation: Artist, sculptor and diver

Residence: Lives and works between London and the rest of the world

How did all this begin?

During my studies I focused on outdoor art and art in public spaces. I was very interested in how objects and sculptures adapt to their environment. Not only in the physical sense, but also in the cultural sense. I worked a lot in England and put the sculptures in different places, on a beach, in a forest. I observed how they changed with the conditions, the light, the wind and the sea. But also how they were interpreted according to the history of the community that saw them. I was also very interested in the sea, as I spent a lot of time as a teenager exploring the sea as we travelled around the world. I thought it would be really interesting to put sceptres in the sea and see them change and explore this vast unknown space. Later I realised that you could also use this to protect the environment. It was the turning point when I realised that it also has an ecological value.

You don't only install your sculptures in tropical waters?

I'm most interested in areas where you wouldn't expect it. I have done projects in Norway in some of the fjords, in cold water, and some of the most beautiful caves. I have also done projects in the Thames with the big tides. Here, 8 metres of water flow in and out every day, which means enormous power and energy. They are colonised very quickly by algae and shellfish, very different from the calm, clear water world of the Caribbean.

London, River Thames "The Rising Tide" ©Jason deCaires Taylor

Is there also the possibility for German readers to find your artworks on the German coasts?

No, not yet! I did a project with the German football team in Brazil when they won the World Cup with floating sculptures.

"Soon we will reach the point where no one can remember how good it has been. We will lose the foundation of what we think is a pristine environment."

How quickly do you notice the change in water temperatures on your sculptures?

You can't derive scientific results from the sculptures. There are many different factors at each site, sunlight, nutrients, algae. It's about talking to the people in the communities, the fishermen who have spent their whole lives there. From them I learned how negative the human impact is. Soon we will reach the point where no one can remember how good it has been. We will lose the foundation of what we think is a pristine environment.

"In the sea it's like it's snowing all the time."

How quickly does the water affect your sculpture?

Extremely quickly, because within 12 hours of being in the water, it starts to change. Within 2 days it turns yellow, then a little greener because algae start to grow. Then other species start crawling on it, attaching themselves to the surface and growing. I thought that most of the life would be found in tropical areas. But some of the changes in cold water are very rapid.

"It's the opposite of a contemporary art gallery."

In the sea, it's like it's snowing all the time, and the snow is made up of thousands of little eggs, embryos and species that are constantly snowing down on everything. The sculpture starts accumulating its life; one species lands on top of another, maybe they fight each other, then the next species settles. Every day is different. It is the opposite of a contemporary art gallery. Everything is constantly evolving.

Jason deCaires Taylor sculptures ©Jason deCaires Taylor

"The Coral Greenhouse Australia" ©Jason deCaires Taylor

After that, the photographs are created?

It's a big part of the artwork itself, an installation art of the moment. When I'm making the art, I'm already thinking about how it will react with the sea, how the light will come from a certain angle and how the compositions will be put together.

"The ocean is like a state of consciousness."

What does the ocean mean to you personally?

The ocean is like a state of consciousness. Like walking through a door into another world. A different state of mind.

As soon as I dive under the surface of the water, I immediately feel my heartbeat and breathing slow down. How I move is different, floating and mentally I am in a different state. Similar to the time we all spend the first nine months of our lives in a womb. We float in liquids and can only hear and feel. Going underwater and diving brings back those memories.

"It needs a global effort to stop the warming of the planet, a pandemic-type legislation."

When you work on coasts, you actively engage with governments.

Most of the time it's a government commission, when they want to invest in the coastlines. But I also do private commissions.

A lot of our problems stem from not having good government. The older I get, I try to use my work to help change politics. It needs a global effort to stop the warming of the planet, a pandemic-type legislation. We need massive political change and we need to inspire people to get into politics.

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