14 DAY TRIAL // The waters off the coast of Bahamas, an island country in the Atlantic Ocean, are now home to a sculpture said to be the world's largest underwater statue.
The sculpture, pictured next to this article, is the work of an artist named Jason deCaires Taylor, who happens to be quite preoccupied with the conservation matters as well.
Its nickname is Ocean Atlas and it depicts a girl standing in a crouched position as if holding the weight of the ocean on her shoulders.
If the stance of this Bahamian girl seems familiar, that's because the statue was inspired by the story of the Titan Atlas, who the ancient Greeks imagined was in charge of holding up the celestial spheres by balancing them on his back.
A one-of-a-kind statue
As noticeable in the photo accompanying this article, the statue is pretty big. Thus, it is said to measure some 18 feet (5.5 meters) in height and tip the scale at about 60 tons. As already mentioned, this makes it the largest underwater statue to have until now been created and set in place anywhere in the world.
Live Science tells us that, when working on creating this statue, artist Jason deCaires Taylor chose to use marine-grade cement. This material is not only pH neutral, i.e. neither acidic nor basic, but also freakishly strong and durable.
The artist settled on this material looking to make sure that his work would not interfere with local marine ecosystems and would be well equipped to handle the wave and tidal forces acting on it. Besides, since marine-grade cement need not be reinforced with metal, the statue is safe from corrosion.
Given its size, it should not come as a surprise that the statue was not lowered at the bottom of the ocean in one piece. On the contrary, the sculpture comprises several individual parts that were created on land and that were put together and locked in place underwater.
Not just an underwater sculpture
Interestingly enough, this statue was not created for the benefit of scuba divers and snorkelers alone. Thus, Jason deCaires Taylor expects it to become a safe haven for marine creatures populating the area.
Talking to the press, the artist explained that, in time, corals would come and colonize the sculpture, and all sorts of ocean dwellers would drop by and seek shelter in its nooks and crannies. The idea is to have the statue serve as a miniature artificial reef.
In case anyone was wondering, the Ocean Atlas is not Jason deCaires Taylor's first underwater statue. The artist has until now created several dozen such sculptures, of which some sit off the coast of Cancún, Mexico, and others in Caribbean waters.
“I really wanted my work to be functional at the conservational level. I realized I could make an artificial reef with these sculptures and they would have a different life,” Jason deCaires Taylor commented on his work in a recent interview.