While most museums spend a good bit of their budget on clearing dust and dirt and restoring artwork to pristine condition, Australia’s newest museum is hoping to see its sculptures disappear under a layer of living things.
Designed by Jason deCaires Taylor, who has developed marine museums in a number of areas, the Museum of Underwater Art, or Moua, is at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and will soon open to divers and snorkelers, as soon as boat trips are allowed again by public health authorities.
The large sculptures of people and workplaces are made of ph-neutral steels, and are meant to encourage coral growth that will eventually make it into part of the endangered reef. Other parts of it are designed to provide habitat for octopuses and sea urchins.
The project, off the coast of Townsville, has been funded by local and national governments and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The only sign of the museum visible above water is a statue called Ocean Siren. Representing an indigenous girl, it includes hundreds of LEDs that change color from blue to red depending on water temperature.
