Ocean Gaia is the latest artwork from British sculptor-diver Jason deCaires Taylor – and is also said to be the first underwater sculpture ever installed in Japan.
Positioned on the seabed 5m deep off the island of Tokuno on 14 October, the monumental work is a portrait of a well-known Japanese model, Kiko Mizuhara. It weighs more than 40 tonnes and is 5.5m wide.
Tokunoshima lies in the Amami archipelago to the north of Okinawa. It is a popular scuba-diving location known for its turtles, coral reefs, caves and clear water.
Set close to shore and embedded within the fringing reef, the sculpture is perforated around its edges to invite marine life inside. Its contours are intended to echo the intricate sand-circles crafted by the native Japanese white-spotted pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus) – a fish made famous by the BBC’s Life Story.
Tokunoshima is also renowned for the large number of centenarians among its population, reflecting a healthy lifestyle, and its high birth-rate is reflected in mountains that resemble the silhouette of a pregnant woman – and which are also represented in the sculpture.
Taylor says he envisioned Ocean Gaia as a symbol of renewal as well as a gesture toward reconnection between people, the sea and continuity of life, reflecting the fact that in recent years many younger people have left the islands to live in cities.
The artist likes to photograph his underwater sculptures around the world as they are installed and later at intervals to record their gradual colonisation by marine life, as can be seen on his website.
He says he hopes that when divers or snorkellers visit the Ocean Gaia site it will evoke “a deep, instinctive memory of being held within water – a quiet meditation on creation, fertility and the ocean as the original womb of life”.
AloJapan.com