Underwater Museum of Marseille: “The traveler” completes the underwater gallery
Two years after its opening, the Underwater Museum of Marseille completed its collection. 100 meters from the beach of the Catalans and five meters deep, there are now 10 statues 2.5 meters high. On September 5, the founder Antony Lacanaud invited the partners and sponsors of the museum, the media and local actors to Anse du Pharo to participate in the ceremony of the immersion of the “traveler”, the tenth and last sculpture for this project. .
” Marseille is my adopted city says the creator Bruno Catalanoof Franco-Italian origin born in Morocco in 1960. I arrived in Marseille with suitcases, travel is part of my sculpture “. In 1995, he began a series of “traveller” sculptures famous throughout the world and represented by galleries in Paris, New York, Singapore, Cannes and Saint-Paul de Vence.
But the integration of the statue (exhibited for the first time in the Phocaean city on the Bargemon square in 2013) in the Underwater Museum was a challenge: the particular structure of Catalano’s works resisted an exhibition on dry land, but it is too fragile for the seabed. The museum team had to find a solution to stabilize the original work without altering it too much, in order to create the traveler’s underwater twin in natural cement made especially for the underwater gallery.
What is the ecological value of the artificial reef?
This natural cement, the rough surface and the cavities in the statues allow algae to grow and other microorganisms to settle there, making the concrete an attractive new biotope that attracts other marine species. The question of the ecological value of this underwater gallery is still being asked.
Among the guests, some wish to answer it. Christophe Madrolle, elected (various center) of the Region and Isabelle Gerente, founder of Green City Organization expressed not only their support for the museum, but also its relevance. Thus Vincent Salbert, head of the maritime department at Oteis, an independent French consulting and ecological engineering group, takes the floor. The Underwater Museum of Marseille is collaborating with the Otéis design office and a team of marine biologists to monitor underwater evolution and collect scientific data on the biosphere of the Mediterranean coast.
I want to insist on taking into account the price of the environment of the museum since from the beginning we are asked to be irreproachable from an environmental point of view. Above all, what you have to see is that it is a space that is quite poor in biology, in living species. And putting these sculptures in place brought life back, even more life than we replaced. So in addition to the socio-economic, touristic and educational aspect, the ecological value is undeniable..
Vincent Salbert
The results demonstrate, among other things, a stable growth and even density of Posidonia since the installation of the museum in 2020 as well as an increased presence of crenilabras and seabreams, sponges and crustaceans. (See the full 2021 environmental monitoring report in the source document.
Morgan Bourc’his cry of alarm
Despite this revival of marine life off Catalans beach, freediver and museum sponsor Morgan Bourc’his takes the opportunity to take stock of the current ecological situation, both above and below water: ” This museum participates in raising awareness of the threats to the sea, but the problem is systemic. Doubt is no longer possible. So my welcome speech on this tenth statue is very dark, but we really have to wake up. […] See how our charred forests are doing? It’s the same underwater right now “.
“From 0 to 30 meters, death reigns” and “I perceive this traveler as a climatic exile” says @morganbourchis, freediving champion and sponsor of the underwater museum of Marseille during the immersion of the “traveler”. Here is his inspiring and alarming speech! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/D84CWt34ie
— Gomet’ (@Gometmedia) September 5, 2022
About the Underwater Museum of Marseille
The 10 works exhibited to date constitute an artistic artificial reef intended to be colonized by the fauna and flora of the underwater coast of Marseille. The Underwater Museum of Marseille, open since November 2020, is part of the maritime heritage of the Marseille coast. On June 8, 2021, Anthony Lacanaud paid tribute to Albert Falco, a famous diver who died in 2012 known to have been Commander Cousteau’s deputy, by giving his name to the gallery. The museum, funded through donations and support from local actors such as the City of Marseille, is accessible free of charge to swimmers. More information on the museum website.
Project of the future: soon an underwater museum in Toulon?
But it is not because the collection is now complete that the museum ceases its activities. Among the statues already submerged, there is one that must fulfill a particular mission. The ninth sculpture, “Resilience”, created by Marseille sculptor Thierry Trivès, is a technological challenge. It is equipped with an HD camera and sensors to measure water quality. “Resilience” should collect and share valuable scientific field data, such as measurements of salinity, acidity, temperature or even water pollution indices via a 4G modem on a dedicated mobile application, “Guardians of the Oceans”.
Currently, the connected sculpture does not yet allow autonomous use but Antony Lacanaud hopes for it as soon as possible. And this is not the only promising project. ” We have partners who are arriving to help me duplicate the museum since we have a project in Toulon “, he announces.
Document source: 2021 environmental monitoring report
Useful links :
> A bubble of oxygen for the Underwater Museum of Marseille
> The Underwater Museum of Marseille: a multifaceted immersion