Upon opening the studio door, we felt like we were entering, in a way, another reality, we realized that this place had a special energy. It wasn't the ever-present Atlantic sea, it wasn't the rigorous silence of concentrated teamwork, it wasn't the smell of plaster and latex; what seduced us was the mystery of that world waiting to be revealed. We gradually realized that we were in the presence of a great creator, someone who transcended the normal. The Lanzarote studio of the English sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor is a gateway to eternity. That is the energy we perceived, the one left by the bodies that have been modeled to live underwater.
Jason deCaires Taylor is, perhaps, the artist who works within land art with one of the least used elements in this artistic current, the seabed. Land art, a line that generates art from a place, and that somehow César Manrique already worked on the island in the 60s and 70s, will serve to create this time the first underwater museum in Europe, the so-called Atlantic Museum. These realistic sculptures, which have the particularity of being located underwater, eventually become coral reefs. The Atlantic Museum will be a botanical garden where models taken from Lanzarote itself head towards a door that leads to another world, the underwater world, to which Jason invites us to transit. A vision, that of the seabed, that a world-renowned island like Lanzarote should not forget.
As we continue to delve into his workshop, we identify the different processes of elaboration of his particular way of looking at the world, the molds, the clothes, the pieces of cactus, along with the photos of his works that he himself has taken and that have earned him international awards. Jason is somewhat shy, with a delightful English humor, perfectionist and strict with his work, but approachable. It is surprising to see him working with his team, collaborators from different parts, in perfect harmony, as if it were a hive. It reminds us of the group of workers who changed Lanzarote with Manrique's ideas, in "Las manos", our latest documentary, the value of teamwork, the strength of the whole, was highlighted.
While we have shared life with him, televisions from all over the world have come to be interested in his work, he has responded to radio interviews and has given the latest guidelines to another project located in Indonesia. What he does is unique and his media power is enormous. In September, four of his creations, which will also be present in the Atlantic Museum, will be located in the River Thames in London, the city where he trained, where he painted graffiti on subway cars. We feel that much has been said about his work but we want to know more about the person, we feel fortunate to be able to do so.
His work has a part of chance caused by natural cycles. The work is given to Nature so that it modifies it and gives it another added value that is not the human value. Jason seeks that his sculptures are intervened by Nature, creating a synergy between artistic creation and natural wealth. Jason vindicates with his work nature as a creator, from the sensitivity towards its protection and defense. The main link with Lanzarote is perhaps there, Nature as the protagonist, as a creator in the concept of ART/NATURE/LIFE that César Manrique defended throughout his life.
