Ten years ago, I had my first exhibition here. I had no idea if it would work or was at all possible, but with a few small steps and a very steep learning curve, I made my first sculpture, called "The Lost Correspondent." Teaming up with a marine biologist and a local dive center, I submerged the work off the coast of Grenada, in an area decimated by Hurricane Ivan. And then this incredible thing happened. It transformed. One sculpture became two. Two quickly became 26. And before I knew it, we had the world's first underwater sculpture park.
Prije deset godina, predstavio sam prvu izložbu ovdje. Nisam znao hoće li upaliti ili je li uopće moguće, no, malim koracima i vrlo strmom krivuljom učenja, napravio sam prvu skulpturu imena "Izgubljeni dopisnik." Uz pomoć morskog biologa i lokalnog ronilačkog centra, potopio sam svoj rad blizu obale Grenade, u područje uništeno uraganom Ivan. Onda se nevjerojatna stvar dogodila. Transformirao se. Jedna skulptura je postala dvije. Dvije su postale 26. I prije nego sam shvatio, imali smo prvi podvodni park skulptura na svijetu.
In 2009, I moved to Mexico and started by casting local fisherman. This grew to a small community, to almost an entire movement of people in defense of the sea. And then finally, to an underwater museum, with over 500 living sculptures. Gardening, it seems, is not just for greenhouses. We've since scaled up the designs: "Ocean Atlas," in the Bahamas, rising 16 feet up to the surface and weighing over 40 tons, to now currently in Lanzarote, where I'm making an underwater botanical garden, the first of its kind in the Atlantic Ocean.
2009. godine sam se preselio u Meksiko i počeo lijevati lokalne ribare. Ovo je preraslo u malu zajednicu, i u cijeli pokret ljudi za obranu mora. I konačno, u podvodni muzej, s preko 500 živućih skulptura. Vrtlarstvo, čini se, nije samo za staklenike. Otad smo ih povećali: "Oceanski Atlas", na Bahamima, se uzdiže oko 5 m do površine i teži preko 40 tona, pa do trenutnog u Lanzaroteu, gdje pravim podvodni botanički vrt, prvi te vrste u Atlantskom Oceanu.
Each project, we use materials and designs that help encourage life; a long-lasting pH-neutral cement provides a stable and permanent platform. It is textured to allow coral polyps to attach. We position them down current from natural reefs so that after spawning, there's areas for them to settle. The formations are all configured so that they aggregate fish on a really large scale. Even this VW Beetle has an internal living habitat to encourage crustaceans such as lobsters and sea urchins.
Za svaki projekt koristimo materijale i dizajn koji potiču život; dugotrajni pH neutralan cement pruža stabilnu i stalnu platformu. Tekstura dopušta pričvršćivanje koraljnih polipa. Postavljamo ih nizvodno od prirodnih grebena tako da se imaju gdje smjestiti nakon mriješćenja. Formacije su konfigurirane tako da se ribe gomilaju u velikom razmjeru. Čak i ova VW Buba ima unutrašnje životno stanište koje podržava rakove kao što su jastozi i morski ježevi.
So why exhibit my work in the ocean? Because honestly, it's really not easy. When you're in the middle of the sea under a hundred-foot crane, trying to lower eight tons down to the sea floor, you start to wonder whether I shouldn't have taken up watercolor painting instead.
No, zašto izlagati svoj rad u oceanu? Zato što iskreno, zaista nije lako. Kada ste usred mora ispod 30 m visokog krana, pokušavajući spustiti osam tona na morsko dno, počnete se pitati ne bi li bilo bolje da sam se radije prihvatio vodenih bojica.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
But in the end, the results always blow my mind.
No, na kraju rezultati su uvijek očaravajući.
(Music)
(Glazba)
The ocean is the most incredible exhibition space an artist could ever wish for. You have amazing lighting effects changing by the hour, explosions of sand covering the sculptures in a cloud of mystery, a unique timeless quality and the procession of inquisitive visitors, each lending their own special touch to the site.
Ocean je najnevjerojatniji izložbeni prostor kojeg umjetnik može poželjeti. Imate zapanjujuće svjetlosne efekte koji se mijenjaju svakog sata, eksplozije pjeska prekrivaju skulpture u oblaku misterije, jedinstvena vanvremenska kvaliteta i povorka radoznalih posjetilaca, svaki dodaje svoj vlastiti dodir mjestu.
(Music)
(Glazba)
But over the years, I've realized that the greatest thing about what we do, the really humbling thing about the work, is that as soon as we submerge the sculptures, they're not ours anymore, because as soon as we sink them, the sculptures, they belong to the sea. As new reefs form, a new world literally starts to evolve, a world that continuously amazes me. It's a bit of a cliché, but nothing man-made can ever match the imagination of nature.
No, tijekom godina, shvatio sam da je najbolja stvar u vezi ovog posla, zaista skromna stvar u vezi posla, je da čim uronimo skulpture, više nisu naše, jer čim ih potopimo, skulpture pripadaju moru. Dok se novi grebeni formiraju, novi svijet doslovno počinje evoluirati, svijet koji me neprestano zadivljuje. Malo je klišej, no ništa što su ljudi napravili ne mogu ikad nadmašiti maštu prirode.
Sponges look like veins across the faces. Staghorn coral morphs the form. Fireworms scrawl white lines as they feed. Tunicates explode from the faces. Sea urchins crawl across the bodies feeding at night. Coralline algae applies a kind of purple paint. The deepest red I've ever seen in my life lives underwater. Gorgonian fans oscillate with the waves. Purple sponges breathe water like air. And grey angelfish glide silently overhead.
Spužve izgledaju kao vene preko lica. Koralji oblikuju formu. Vatreni crvi škrabaju bijele crte kako se hrane. Plaštenjaci eksplodiraju na licima. Morski ježevi pužu preko tijela hraneći se po noći. Corallinales alge ostavljaju neku vrstu ljubičaste boje. Najdublja crvena koju sam ikad vidio živi pod vodom. Kožasti koralji osciliraju s valovima. Ljubičaste spužve dišu vodu kao zrak. A sivi skalari klize tiho iznad glava.
And the amazing response we've had to these works tells me that we've managed to plug into something really primal, because it seems that these images translate across the world, and that's made me focus on my responsibility as an artist and about what I'm trying to achieve. I'm standing here today on this boat in the middle of the ocean, and this couldn't be a better place to talk about the really, really important effect of my work. Because as we all know, our reefs are dying, and our oceans are in trouble.
Nevjerojatan odziv na ove radove mi govori da smo uspjeli zagaziti u nešto zaista iskonsko, čini se da se ove slike prenose diljem svijeta, i to me natjeralo da se usredotočim na svoje odgovornosti kao umjetnik i ono što pokušavam postići. Stojim ovdje danas na ovom brodu usred oceana, i ovo ne može biti bolje mjesto za govor o zaista, zaista bitnoj posljedici mog rada. Jer svi znamo, naši grebeni umiru, i naši oceani su u opasnosti.
So here's the thing: the most used, searched and shared image of all my work thus far is this. And I think this is for a reason, or at least I hope it is. What I really hope is that people are beginning to understand that when we think of the environment and the destruction of nature, that we need to start thinking about our oceans, too.
Stvar je ova: najkorištenija, najtraženija i podjeljena slika od svog mog rada je ova. I mislim da je to s razlogom, ili se barem nadam. Ono što se stvarno nadam je da ljudi počinju razumijevati da kad razmišljamo o okolini i uništavanju prirode, moramo početi razmišljati o našim oceanima, također.
Since building these sites, we've seen some phenomenal and unexpected results. Besides creating over 800 square meters of new habitats and living reef, visitors to the marine park in Cancun now divide half their time between the museum and the natural reefs, providing significant rest for natural, overstressed areas. Visitors to "Ocean Atlas" in the Bahamas highlighted a leak from a nearby oil refinery. The subsequent international media forced the local government to pledge 10 million dollars in coastal cleanups. The sculpture park in Grenada was instrumental in the government designating a spot -- a marine-protected area. Entrance fees to the park now help fund park rangers to manage tourism and fishing quotas. The site was actually listed as a "Wonder of the World" by National Geographic.
Otkad smo napravili ova mjesta, vidjeli smo neke fenomenalne i neočekivane rezultate. Uz stvaranje preko 800 kvadratnih metara novog staništa i živog grebena, posjetitelji morskog parka u Cancunu sad dijele vrijeme između muzeja i prirodnih grebena, pružajući znatni odmor za prirodna, previše posjećena područja. Posjetitelji " Oceanskog Atlasa" na Bahamima su istaknuli izlijevanje iz obližnje rafinerije nafte. Sljedeće su internacionalni mediji natjerali lokalnu vladu da obećaju 10 milijuna dolara za čišćenje obale. Park skulptura u Grenadi je bio ključan u imenovanju mjesta -- morsko-zaštićenog područja. Novac od ulaznica u park sad pomaže financirati čuvare parka koji upravljaju turizmom i ribolovnim kvotama. Zapravo National Geographic mjesto smatra "Svjetskim čudom."
So why are we all here today in this room? What do we all have in common? I think we all share a fear that we don't protect our oceans enough. And one way of thinking about this is that we don't regard our oceans as sacred, and we should. When we see incredible places -- like the Himalayas or the La Sagrada Família, or the Mona Lisa, even -- when we see these incredible places and things, we understand their importance. We call them sacred, and we do our best to cherish them, to protect them and to keep them safe. But in order to do that, we are the ones that have to assign that value; otherwise, it will be desecrated by someone who doesn't understand that value.
No, zašto smo danas svi u ovoj prostoriji? Što svi mi imamo zajedničko? Mislim da svi dijelimo strah da ne štitimo naše oceane dovoljno. Jedan način razmišljanja o ovome je da ne smatramo naše oceane svetima, a trebali bi. Kada vidimo nevjerojatna mjesta -- poput Himalaja ili La Sagrada Familia, ili Mona Lisu, čak -- kada vidimo ta nevjerojatna mjesta i stvari, razumijemo njihovu važnost. Nazivamo ih svetima, i trudimo ih se njegovati, štititi ih i čuvati na sigurnom. No, da bi to napravili, mi smo ti koji pridodajemo tu vrijednost, inače će ih oskvrnuti netko tko ne razumije tu vrijednost.
So I want to finish up tonight by talking about sacred things. When we were naming the site in Cancun, we named it a museum for a very important and simple reason: museums are places of preservation, of conservation and of education. They're places where we keep objects of great value to us, where we simply treasure them for them being themselves. If someone was to throw an egg at the Sistine Chapel, we'd all go crazy. If someone wanted to build a seven-star hotel at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, then we would laugh them out of Arizona. Yet every day we dredge, pollute and overfish our oceans. And I think it's easier for us to do that, because when we see the ocean, we don't see the havoc we're wreaking. Because for most people, the ocean is like this. And it's really hard to think of something that's just so plain and so enormous, as fragile. It's simply too massive, too vast, too endless. And what do you see here? I think most people actually look past to the horizon. So I think there's a real danger that we never really see the sea, and if we don't really see it, if it doesn't have its own iconography, if we miss its majesty, then there's a big danger that we take it for granted.
Tako da želim završiti večeras sa pričom o svetim stvarima. Kad smo imenovali mjesto u Cancunu, nazvali smo ga muzej iz veoma važnog i jednostavnog razloga: muzeji su mjesta očuvanja, konzervacije i obrazovanja. To su mjesta gdje čuvamo objekte velike vrijednosti za nas, gdje ih jednostavno skupljamo zbog njih samih. Ako bi netko bacio jaje na Sistinsku Kapelicu, svi bi poludjeli. Ako bi netko htio izgraditi hotel sa sedam zvjezdica na dnu Grand Canyona, istjerali bi ih smijehom iz Arizone. No ipak, svakog dana kopamo, onečišćujemo i izlovljavamo naše oceane. I mislim da nam je lakše to raditi, jer kad pogledamo ocean, ne vidimo štetu koju nanosimo. Za većinu ljudi, ocean je ovakav. I veoma je teško misliti o nečemu tako jasnom i tako ogromnom kao krhkom. Jednostavno je prevelik, preprostran, beskrajan. Što vidite ovdje? Mislim da većina ljudi zapravo gleda preko horizonta. Mislim da je to prava opasnost što nikad zapravo ne vidimo more, i ako ga ne vidimo, ako nema svoju vlastitu ikonografiju, ako propuštamo njegovu veličanstvenost, onda je velika opasnost da ga uzmemo zdravo za gotovo.
Cancun is famous for spring break, tequila and foam parties. And its waters are where frat boys can ride around on Jet Skis and banana boats. But because of our work there, there's now a little corner of Cancun that is simply precious for being itself. And we don't want to stop in Grenada, in Cancun or the Bahamas. Just last month, I installed these Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Thames River, in central London, right in front of the Houses of Parliament, putting a stark message about climate change in front of the people that have the power to help change things.
Cancun je poznat po proljetnim praznicima, tekili i pjena partyjima. I na njegovim vodama se dečki iz bratstva voze na Jet Skiju i banana brodovima. No, zbog našeg rada tamo, sad postoji jedan kutak Cancuna koji je jednostavno dragocjen sam po sebi. I ne želimo stati u Grenadi, u Cancunu ili Bahamima. Baš prošlog mjeseca sam instalirao Četiri jahača Apokalipse u Temzi, u središtu Londona, upravo ispred zgrade Parlamenta, stavljajući jaku poruku o klimatskim promjenama ispred ljudi koji imaju moć promijeniti stvari.
Because for me, this is just the beginning of the mission. We want to team up with other inventors, creators, philanthropists, educators, biologists, to see better futures for our oceans. And we want to see beyond sculpture, beyond art, even.
Za mene je ovo tek početak misije. Želimo se povezati s ostalim izumiteljima, stvarateljima, filantropima, odgajateljima, biolozima, da vidimo bolju budućnost za naše oceane. I želimo vidjeti više od skulptura, više od umjetnosti, čak.
Say you're a 14-year-old kid from the city, and you've never seen the ocean. And instead of getting taken to the natural history museum or an aquarium, you get taken out to the ocean, to an underwater Noah's Ark, which you can access through a dry-glass viewing tunnel, where you can see all the wildlife of the land be colonized by the wildlife of the ocean. Clearly, it would blow your mind.
Recimo da ste 14-godišnji klinac iz grada, koji nikad nije vidio ocean. Umjesto da vas odvedu u prirodoslovni muzej ili akvarij, odvedu vas do oceana, do podvodne Noine arke, kojoj možete pristupiti putem staklenog tunela, gdje možete vidjeti svu divljinu sa kopna koloniziranu divljinom oceana. Očito, bili bi očarani.
So let's think big and let's think deep. Who knows where our imagination and willpower can lead us? I hope that by bringing our art into the ocean, that not only do we take advantage of amazing creativity and visual impact of the setting, but that we are also giving something back, and by encouraging new environments to thrive, and in some way opening up a new -- or maybe it's a really old way of seeing the seas: as delicate, precious places, worthy of our protection.
Razmislimo dobro i duboko. Tko zna gdje nas naša mašta i volja mogu odvesti? Nadam se da dovodeći umjetnost u ocean, ne samo da iskorištavamo nevjerojatnu kreativnost i vizualni utjecaj instalacije, nego, također, dajemo nešto zauzvrat, i poticanjem napretka novog okoliša, i na neki način, novim -- ili možda veoma starim načinom gledanja na more: kao nježnim, dragocjenim mjestima, vrijednima naše zaštite.
Our oceans are sacred.
Naši oceani su sveti.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)