Politics, Environmentalism and Underwater Sculpture with Jason deCaires Taylor

Sculpture Vulture

Today, Lucy Branch talks to Jason deCaires Taylor, who is a sculptor, environmentalist, and professional underwater photographer. He has permanent site-specific work spanning several continents and predominantly explores submerged and tidal-marine environments. He's the only sculptor in the series who does not work in bronze, but I can't hold that against him because his work is utterly fascinating. He has a deep understanding of the crisis that humanity is facing with the damage that they're doing to the environment. The fact he enables expression of this through his underwater sculpture is well worth listening to.

Join us and BE INSPIRED BY SCULPTURE. You can find images of Jason deCaires Taylor's work and a transcription of the interview at the Sculpture Vulture Blog - SCULPTURE VULTURE

If you are looking for a new book, the novel mentioned in this interview is currently available free from Sculpture Vulture.

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Snippet from the interview:

Lucy: Have you always been creative?
Jason: No, not necessarily. No, I actually started my art career much, much later on in life. I studied sculpture at university, but then, after that, I sort of did a whole range of different professions, none of which were particularly creative. But it was only later on in life that I managed to, you know, make it a full-time profession.
Lucy: What sent you off to art school then?
Jason: Oh, yeah, certainly. I mean I come from a family that...you know, there's many, many painters and sculptors and, generally we've always been involved, in some way, in the creative arts. But yeah, I think it was a really, sort of, natural choice for me to go to university. You know, when you're at that age and you're, sort of, weighing up all the different options of what to do in life, I kind of just went with what I enjoyed the most and what I loved doing, and it was certainly art.
Lucy: So, a family, being artistic, who were quite happy for you to do that. That's not always the case.
Jason: No, I was very lucky. You know, I had parents that really encouraged me to, sort of, follow my own vocation. Yeah, some people are not as fortunate but, for me, it kind of really worked out.

Lucy: What did you do after you left university?
Jason: Many different things. It was quite, sort of, an interesting path. I mean I studied sculpture and ceramics at Camberwell College of Arts. And after that, I actually had that dreaded feeling, like, "Oh my god, you know, how am I going to make a living out of this?" I actually found it quite... you know, the equation of taking on jobs maybe that I didn't like too much but they paid the bills. I always wanted the creative part to be free and not constrained in any way, which, I suppose, everybody does. But, practically speaking, it's not always possible. So, I really turned against that and I thought, "I'm just going to try some other different types of jobs and see what I enjoy doing."