Who says underwater art installations need to only be in the clear waters off the Florida Keys?
This past month, sculptor Jenni Ward and photographer Herb Segars collaborated on a project seventy feet under the Atlantic Ocean, showcasing Ward‘s “Bone Series” work on an artificial reef off the New Jersey coastline called The Dykes Wreck.
The “Bone Series” pieces are abstract interpretations of biological sea-dwelling creatures that may have had fleshy fins or appendages, with their bone structures being all that remains.
“Using bones as a reference in my work alludes to concepts of decay and renewal, the past and the present, interior structures and exterior forms,” according to Ward, a California-based ceramic sculptor who creates abstract pieces and installations inspired by nature. “The shipwrecks these pieces were placed on share the same references as their disintegrating structures become an artificial reef for new growth to thrive on” Segars documented the sculptures as they moved with the surge of the waves, capturing the work in its seemingly natural environment. With concerns of ocean acidification, pollution and rising ocean temperatures, the two plan for another larger scale underwater exhibition using art as the vehicle to bring awareness of these wild places and their need for protection and preservation.”
Herb Segars is a photographer who specializes in wildlife and marine subjects. He spends a great deal of time scuba diving and photographing the waters off his home state of New Jersey.
For more info on the Bone Series project, click here.
