I’ve always been fascinated and terrified by the ocean in equal measures. The oddities that hang about in their waters are intriguing and other worldly. Unfortunately I am 100% afraid of deep water and the animals within it. I love watching good ol’ Attenborough talking to me about the goings on below but I would never allow myself to descend in to the depths. Once I tried snorkeling off the back of a boat in Australia. I got ten metres (max) from the safety of the deck, my heart and lungs went in to overdrive and I thought I was going to spak right out. I imagined a huge set of jaws hurtling from the depths to chew me up. I turned straight back round and got back in the boat. Embarrassed and damp.
That is the sum total of my diving prowess. It’s a shame because this guy called Jason de Caires Taylor has made some amazing looking underwater sculpture parks. The images are creepy and a little unnerving if you ask me, but then you know how I feel about deep water and fish so I guess it won’t evoke the same feelings in everyone.
The sculptures aren’t just cool to look at, they also serve an environmental purpose. They give a base for new coral and eventually new ecosystems for fish to inhabit. So whilst tourist divers and pleasure sailors busy themselves with smashing up the other reefs, they can find a safe haven here. In 50 to 100 years from now they will barely be recognisable as statues at all, as they become carpeted with fresh life.
