hortense le calvez + mathieu goussin showcase underwater art installation below the aegean sea

this side of paradise offers a playful approach showcasing retro-futurist figures inside a monochrome submarine forest. discovering a new milieu, the personages act as guardians ready to defend an unknown species. the fictional black and white plantation is made from the wooden sculptures of forlane 6 studio. the artist duo hortense le calvez and mathieu goussin were shot by adventurer and free-diver photographer alexandre voyer. they are wearing designer wetsuits by the french brand kalypse and tailored to each diver.

the visitors landing into a new milieu

the art installation, designed by hortense le calvez and mathieu goussin, where the images were taken is titled disoriented. it is submerged temporarily during the summer month on hydra island, greece. the sunken exhibition can be experienced by swimmers and divers alike in shallow waters. the submarine installation imagines an irrational story of seed drifting. palm trees rising on previously barren islands, are often the result of coconut drifting many months waiting to encounter a piece of land to grow onto. with higher sea levels and disappearing atolls, the later would be unable to reach any dry sand. 

rising to a better view

the artist duo dreamt the plant settling into the deep and imitating a feather star fish. the arrows are referring to weather map symbols pointing at the direction and strength of the winds or currents. the installation addresses the issues of climate change from an emotional perspective acknowledging the impossibility to anticipate how species might evolve facing environmental changes.

deep inside the monochrome plantation

wandering above

directed by the currents

with tools

to defend the floating garden

a surveying position

the guardians

observing and understanding

native specie

the plants breathing out