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2006年，30岁的杰森·德卡莱斯·泰勒（Jason DeCaire Taylor）已经在西印度群岛的格林纳达岛（Grenada Island）当了5年潜水教练，这一年，他因为投资失败陷入财务困境，相处多年女友不留情面甩手离去，于是他被迫重新审视人生，拾起了大学时代的专业和梦想：雕塑创作。
凭着一股向死而生的劲头，泰勒卖掉伦敦的房产，在格林纳达首府圣乔治城北部的莫埃利涅海湾，建立了自己的第一个水下雕塑公园“变迁”（Viccisitudes）——由75座真人大小的雕塑组成，分布在800平方米的海底。出于环保的考虑，他使用一种与海洋生物科学家共同研发的高密度中性海洋水泥制作塑像，模拟有利于珊瑚繁衍的自然岩层，同时不伤害海洋生态环境。出乎意料的是，在第一件雕塑被放入海底的几天内，泰勒就感受到了大自然施加的魔法，年轻的藻类开始形成，然后鱼吃掉藻类，新的生态系统粗具雏形……一个月后，更明显的变化反映于雕塑表面，近距离观看时，他见到了珊瑚虫、蠕虫、软体动物、海绵形成的大理石斑纹；而在雕塑四周，更多的藻类和水生植物以异乎寻常的速度生长着，很快就吸引了上千条鱼、寄居蟹、海星和海胆在此觅食……又是几个月后，软珊瑚和硬珊瑚也来了，雕塑形体变得不再清晰可辨。最让他感到开心的是雕塑公园对于当地旅游观光业可持续发展的促进作用。作为格林纳达海洋公园的一部分，雕塑公园分流了一部分奔着天然珊瑚礁而去的潜水者，帮助受损最为严重的沿海珊瑚礁喘息、生息复原；同时，公园针对游客收取少量入场费，作为资金补助反馈给海上巡逻队和海洋公园的管理人员。以这个项目为出发点，泰勒明为自己制定了一个相对清晰的发展方向（以长久、稳定的创作为前提）——区别于绝大多数艺术家与画廊、展览、艺术市场、收藏家利益捆绑的商业运作模式，他选择与旅游开发机构、海洋保护机构或地方政府进行合作，一边周游世界，一边创作，不断把新的人造珊瑚基石沉入海底。泰勒承认，虽说顶着艺术家的名头，自己却是一个不折不扣的艺术界局外人。“在坎伯威尔艺术学院读书期间，我一直对水下的艺术项目抱有浓厚兴趣，当时的我深受地景艺术（Land Art）和大地艺术（Earthworks）流派影响，认为海洋代表着更为广阔的舞台，给予我们进一步探索艺术的边界的可能性。但在读书期间，我做的大多数项目都与城市景观有关，在创作大型装置艺术作品的过程中所消耗的资源以及在材料上的浪费，让我深感不安。因此，当我兜兜转转终于找到与环境和睦共处的创作形式的时候，我才算真正适应了艺术家这个身份，它让我不再愧疚。”基于特殊空间及特殊的观看角度，泰勒的作品时常会传递出一种令人不安的生命与死亡之间的神秘交流。借着水泥塑形出来的人物，仿佛就是庞贝古城中的人体化石，甚至表现得更为超凡脱俗，让身穿潜水衣的我们感受到现在与未来混合，生与死混合的隐形边界，就存在于寂静无声的水下世界。在艺术家的心目中，这些雕塑群所在的空间从来不是墓地或废墟，“尽管在这里，人们会感受到一种宛如身处大教堂内部的平和的力量”，但他更愿意用“变形”来形容这些拥有暂时的艺术性的作品，“它们必须死在水里，才能再次成为自然的一部分，并延伸至永恒。”48件真人大小的水泥雕塑，每一件都拥有独特的面部表情和身体语言，或站立或横卧在海床上，构成一个环形的中空空间，象征生命的巡回。这件作品亦被赋予了海洋保育的使命——在不到一年的时间里，它将逐渐褪去人为的斧凿痕迹，被来自海洋的生命力淘洗、覆盖，直至长成一座真正的珊瑚礁丛，完全融于自然之中。这里已经是英国网红们的打卡胜地，看惯了海底珊瑚，可以尝试一下海底雕塑，虽然看起来有点渗人，但是感觉十分奇妙，仿佛穿越了一样，就像电影里的探险寻宝的场景！可以说很刺激了，说不定碰到什么机关就可以打开新世界……！In 2006, at the age of 30, Jason DeCaire Taylor had been a diving coach for 5 years on the Grenada Island in the West Indies. That year, he fell into financial difficulties due to investment failure, and his girlfriend who had been with him for many years left without mercy. As a result, he was forced to re-examine his life and pick up his major and dream from his college years: sculpture creation.With a determination to live to the death, Taylor sold his property in London and established his first underwater sculpture park, Viccisitudes, in the Moelline Bay north of the capital of Grenada, St. George's, consisting of 75 life-size sculptures scattered across 800 square meters of the seabed. For environmental reasons, he used a high-density neutral marine cement developed in collaboration with marine biologists to create a statue, which can simulate natural rock layers that are conducive to coral reproduction without harming the marine ecological environment.Unexpectedly, within a few days of the first sculpture being placed on the seabed, Taylor felt the magic exerted by nature. Young algae began to form, and then fish ate the algae. A new ecosystem took shape... One month later, more obvious changes were reflected on the surface of the sculpture. When viewed up close, he saw marble patterns formed by corals, worms, mollusks, and sponges; And around the sculpture, more algae and aquatic plants grew at an unusual speed, quickly attracting thousands of fish, hermit crabs, starfish, and sea urchins to forage here... A few months later, soft and hard corals also arrived, and the sculpture's form became no longer clear and distinguishable.What made him most happy was the promoting effect of the sculpture park on the sustainable development of local tourism and sightseeing industry. As part of the Grenada Marine Park, Sculpture Park has diverted some divers running towards natural coral reefs to help the most severely damaged coastal coral reefs breathe and recover; At the same time, the park charges a small entry fee for tourists as a financial subsidy and provides feedback to the maritime patrol team and the management personnel of the ocean park. Starting from this project, Taylor has set a relatively clear development direction for himself (based on long-term and stable creation) - different from the business operation model where the interests of the vast majority of artists are tied to galleries, exhibitions, art markets, and collectors. He chooses to cooperate with tourism development agencies, marine conservation agencies, or local governments, traveling the world while creating, constantly sinking new artificial coral foundations into the seabed.Taylor admits that although he holds the title of an artist, he is truly an outsider in the art world. "During my studies at the Cumberville Academy of Arts, I had a strong interest in underwater art projects. At that time, I was deeply influenced by the Land Art and Earthworks schools, believing that the ocean represented a broader stage and gave us the possibility to further explore the boundaries of art. However, during my studies, most of the projects I worked on were related to urban landscapes, and the resources consumed and material waste in creating large-scale installation art works made me deeply uneasy. Therefore, when I finally found a creative form that lived in harmony with the environment after wandering around, I truly adapted to the identity of an artist, which made me no longer feel guilty."Based on special spaces and viewing angles, Taylor's works often convey an unsettling mysterious exchange between life and death. The characters shaped through cement seem to be human fossils from the ancient city of Pompeii, even more extraordinary and extraordinary, allowing us wearing diving suits to feel the invisible boundary between the present and the future, life and death, existing in the silent underwater world.In the artist's mind, the space where these sculpture groups are located has never been a cemetery or ruins. "Although here, people feel a peaceful power as if they are inside a cathedral," he prefers to use "deformation" to describe these temporarily artistic works. "They must die in water to become a part of nature again and extend to eternity."48 concrete sculptures of real human size, each with unique facial expressions and body language, standing or lying on the seabed, form a circular hollow space, symbolizing the cycle of life. This work is also entrusted with the mission of ocean conservation - in less than a year, it will gradually fade away the traces of human chiseling, be washed and covered by the vitality from the ocean, and eventually grow into a true coral reef cluster, completely integrated into nature. This is already a check-in destination for British internet celebrities. If you're used to watching underwater corals, you can try underwater sculptures. Although they may seem a bit creepy, they feel very wonderful, as if you've traveled through time, just like the adventure and treasure hunting scenes in movies! It can be said to be very exciting, maybe encountering some mechanism can open up a new world!
