The Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) has recently “opened its doors” on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Townsville , Queensland (Australia).
“MOUA offers a contemporary platform to share the stories of the reef and the culture of its First Nations people, as well as to start a meaningful conversation and solution for reef conservation,” explains the museum’s own website.
It is not the first of its kind: the artist, Jason deCaires Taylor, has also created museums under the sea in Mexico and Lanzarote. MOUA is more than a place to see art: it is a place with a purpose that goes much further. He created it to raise awareness about the importance of reef conservation, which is becoming increasingly important these days.
The artist has been working in partnership with James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences to create a sculpture park that highlights reef conservation and restoration in a mix of science and art and tourism, of course.
The sculpture park features a sunken “coral greenhouse” and 20 “reef guardian” sculptures dedicated to a wide variety of reef protection activities, from looking through a microscope to sitting on a bench apparently taking a breath of gardening. The greenhouse is located 18 meters deep, is 12 meters long and weighs a whopping 58 tons, anchored to the seabed with enough force to withstand a Category 4 cyclone.
The artworks are made from more than 2,000 marine nursery shards embedded in pH-neutral marine cement, which is easy for coral larvae to adhere. Using underwater cameras, the scientists are monitoring the water’s salinity, pH, and oxygen levels, as well as recording what they hope is the beginning of a new coral habitat.
Reference: The Museum of Underwater Art.
