Located off the island of Xiamen near Kinmen, Taiwan, four soaring fishermen sculptures rise from the beach at low tide. Designed by Marco Casagrande, the public art installation becomes partially submerged at high tide, which will collect oysters growing on the fishermen’s “legs” over time. At night, the fishermen twinkle with solar powered LED lights.

Guarding the trail that appears at low tide outside of Great Kinmen, two fishermen line each side of the tidal road, welcoming visitors to walk to the island of Xiamen. Each of Casagrande’s sculptures are made from sand-blasted metal and stand 20 feet tall in all. Capped with a traditional conical rice picker’s hat, the fishermen’s legs are exaggerated to over half of their body size.

During high tide, the lower half of the fishermen’s legs are submerged, appearing like a regular sized man standing on the water. Over time, the legs are expected to attract mussels and oysters at high tide. As oysters affix themselves, the lower legs will soon be transformed into an artificial reef for the bivalves.

The fishermen’s bodies are made from perforated metal, allowing the setting sun to be seen through their bodies. Solar panels soak up and store the sun’s rays all day. Once evening hits, each of the fishermen’s four LED lights illuminate their heads until morning. This solar powered environmental art installation was curated by Sandy Lo as part of the Floating Islands project.

Article from inhabitat.com

by Lori Zimmer