Taking its history beneath the sea.

By Stephen Weir

When a soon-to-be-seen sculpture of Dame Pearlette Louisy is lowered onto the bottom of the sea off Saint Lucia, the Caribbean will have another extraordinary reason for scuba divers and snorkelers to visit the island — an underwater art gallery.

And this one will not be in a museum, and visitors are asked not to touch the artwork. But only leave bubbles.

Louisy is a particularly important figure in Saint Lucian history. She was Saint Lucia’s first woman Governor-General, the country’s representative of the Crown and its head of state during her more than 20 years in office. She served from 1997 until 2017, making her the longest-serving Governor-General in Saint Lucia’s history.

The title “Dame” reflects a British honour bestowed on Louisy. Saint Lucia was formerly a British colony and became an independent country in 1979. It remains a member of the Commonwealth, which helps explain why British honours and titles such as Dame are still part of Saint Lucian public life.

The secret sculptures being created for Below Saint Lucia, the name of the island’s new underwater sculpture project, are about to make the transition from an exhibition on land to three underwater parks.

The first collection will be installed at Anse La Verdue in Canaries, on Saint Lucia’s west coast. The larger project will include a Dive Park, a Snorkel Park and a Conservation Park, creating an underwater sculpture corridor celebrating Saint Lucia’s history, culture and heritage.

Before the sculptures disappear beneath the Caribbean, the press and the families of the people being commemorated in the sculptures will get a look at them inside a St. Lucian warehouse tomorrow, Friday, August 28.

Geraldine Georges, public relations manager with the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, told me that Louisy is being honoured while she is still living.

“On Friday, the sculptures for Below Saint Lucia, as the underwater sculpture park will be named, will be unveiled to the families of the individuals being commemorated, as well as to Dame Pearlette Louisy, who is being honoured while still living,” Georges wrote. “The on-land display will then be open to the public this weekend ahead of the official submerging and wet media launch on September 17.”

An underwater trail will be created for divers to follow so that they can see and photograph the art. The sculptures will reportedly tell the story of Indigenous history, first contact, colonial conflict and slavery, and emancipation.

There are many popular underwater sculpture gardens in the Caribbean and nearby Mexico. Grenada is the pioneer, with its Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, and the newer A World Adrift sculpture park off Carriacou, where 30 boat sculptures sit just four metres below the surface. Mexico has its famous Museo Subacuático de Arte off Cancún and Isla Mujeres. The most famous visited sculpture is found in the Florida Keys: Christ of the Abyss has been visited by divers from all over the world.

These works are deliberately placed in relatively shallow water — often close enough for snorkelers to see them from the surface or, where conditions permit, to duck-dive down for a closer look. For underwater photographers, they offer a particularly unusual subject: the sculptures are often living works that gradually become covered with coral, sponges and other marine life, changing in appearance as the years pass.

The first Dive Park is being installed at Anse La Verdue (also spelled Anse La Verdure), near Canaries, on Saint Lucia’s west coast. The sculptures being exhibited August 29–30 will be moved there and installed underwater. There are a number of hotels with boats and scuba shops with rental gear near the parks!

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