It is a sight that takes your breath away at first…a giant horseshoe crab and when we say “giant” we mean giant. Don’t worry though, it’s not alive, it is the next Art as Reef Project headed up by marine biologist, SCUBA instructor, and artist Christopher Wojcik, in partnership with the Blue Ocean Institute. It is huge and it is getting a lot of attention.
Art as Reef Project is currently making a series of sculptural pieces to be placed on the ocean floor. The first sculpture is a forty-foot long, anatomically correct, horseshoe crab. The sculpture will literally “live” on the bottom of the sea for hundreds or even thousands of years and act as an artificial reef. It will attract fish, crustaceans, and encrusting organisms of all sorts. The sculpture will be sunk off of the coast of New Jersey, adding to the fifteen already established reef systems.
The merits of artificial reefs have long been recognized. They provide vertical structure in areas that are generally bare, which reduces the fishing pressure in popular areas and offer refuge for juvenile fishes and invertebrates. As an art project, the horseshoe crab sculpture will help to shine a light on some critical ocean issues and serve as an educational vehicle used to promote the stewardship of our near-shore environment. The horseshoe crab was chosen because it is a perfect shape for a reef, containing a large area of protected habitat beneath and a shape that is designed by nature to withstand ocean currents and waves.
The artist, Christopher Wojcik loves creating art and loves the ocean. In fact, Chris is a multi-talented marine biologist whose specialties also include film making, photography, television hosting, guiding adventure travel expeditions, scientific illustration, exhibit and set design and SCUBA instruction. Teaching people about the ocean and its inhabitants is a true passion for Chris and what better way to promote stewardship of the sea than through education. A native of Bay Head, NJ; Chris is happy to develop the Horseshoe Crab piece for the Art as Reef project.
For more info visit www.artasreef.com. ■
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