Saving the World, One Coralarium at a Time with Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi and Jason deCaires Taylor

Take a trip to the Maldives and experience the world’s first semi-submerged art gallery, created by a world renowned underwater naturalist and artist thanks to Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi.

AccorHotels’ first and only Fairmont Resort in the Maldives has worked with globally celebrated eco-artist Jason deCaires Taylor as he launches his first coral regeneration art installation. The institution will be situated around the pristine atoll where Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi sits and will be a semi-submerged tidal gallery space that exhibits a series of sculptural artworks on the skyline. This is the Maldives first and only coral regeneration project in the form of an Underwater Art Installation and it pays homage to the abundant sea life and pristine coral house reef surrounding this world-class resort.

With his large following and international influence in media and environmental conservation, Jason deCaires Taylor’s collaboration with Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi creates an ideal global platform to showcase the fragile beauty of the Maldives and our oceans. The Coralarium is a place of preservation, conservation, and education.

Taylor’s art focuses on the natural beauty of the location, while AccorHotels and the Fairmont brand have a strong reputation globally for sustainable tourism and are committed to improving the well-being of local communities and eco-systems wherever they operate and addressing the environmental impacts of their operations.

When guests enjoy the view of the ocean at the Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi, they will see the semi-submerged Coralarium placed exactly in line with the horizon. Taylor has created the installation as a linear extension of the resort in the form of an underwater pathway for guests to participate in the propagation of coral with it leading from the 200-metre infinity pool at the heart of the resort. Guests will take a short swim form the shore leading through the portal from a well-known world above the surface down to a habitat space portraying a symbiotic fusion of terrestrial shapes colliding with sub-oceanic marine life. The materials, textures and configuration have been designed to encourage the settlement of biomass so the work acts as an artificial reef, giving nature a chance to thrive.

The Coralarium holds three dimensions of artwork: rooftop sculptures placed at the top of the cube structure; the underwater art pieces and sculptures placed on plinths at various heights to highlight tidal movements; and the semi-submerged architectural cube element, which creates a bridge and fusion between both terrestrial and sub-oceanic worlds. The installation focuses on a stainless-steel cube structure at a depth of three meters in the lagoon, raising up six meters from the seafloor.

Ten hybrid organic forms and a series of terrestrial species such as shapes of bread-fruit, shells and leaf formations will be exhibited in the underwater gallery. Various forms of ocean life complete the sculptures, transforming them from inert structures to textured, growing and living organisms, celebrating the marine diversity of the Maldives while creating an unforgettable experience for visitors to snorkel through the Coralarium.

Guided tours in small groups led by the resort’s resident marine biologists are available several times a day. In the evening, an integrated light system illuminates the museum and attracts marine life while creating an impressive sight from the island shore. Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi is an all-villa resort ideal for couples and families, featuring overwater private pool villas as well as luxury safari-style tented villas nestled in the island’s lush interior jungle.

For reservations and general information, visit www.fairmont-maldives.com email reservations.maldives@fairmont.com, or contact +960 654 8888. For more information about the works of underwater naturalist and artist Jason deCaires Taylor, contact underwatermuseum.maldives@fairmont.com or visit www.underwatersculpture.com.