Miami’s first underwater sculpture park is due to open this year and is planned to be a wopping 9 miles long! This sculpture park is much more than an art project as it is designed to combat climate change, sea level rise, and coral reef damage. Since the project will have such a large environmental impact covering 9 miles, the artists are working with marine biologists, specialized researchers, engineers, and more to ensure that the materials and programs included will help—and do no harm to—the existing wildlife. The sculptures will be placed 15-20 feet deep running parrellel to Miami’s famous South Beach. Works must meet the design criteria, which limits the materials to limestone or cement, the most natural and common building material used in South Florida construction, and the material preferred by State and Federal agencies for artificial reef deployment.
Phase 1 will include submerged sculptures in the shape of vehicles. In the original exhibition, the “traffic” emerges from and then disappears into the continuous medium of sand. This work was developed as a rumination on the finitude of a certain way of life, in addition to a reflection on time and its power to transform. The installation will evolve under the sea as part of this dynamic project aimed at restoring Miami’s coral reef and its stunning biodiversity. The cars will evolve over time as they are colonized by marine life, and become critical habitat for coral reef organisms.