Client: Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County

Overview

SUNKEN SPORES by artist Ashley Rivers, is a Sculpture based off a few ceramic mushrooms she created in the past. Mushrooms are vital to ecosystems around the world. Through mycelium, mushrooms help other plants share nutrients and communicate through chemical signals. Created mostly of concrete, with metal mesh stabilizers, the piece Stands roughly 7′ 2″ tall. The shapes within the piece will allow the perfect surfaces for future corals and anemones to grow, offering new reef habitats, feeding, spawning, and nursery grounds for over 1 million aquatic species- a perfect analogy to how real mushrooms help other plants share nutrients above ground.

Goals

This sculpture will be part of the Underwater Museum of Art in Walton county, Florida. The museum lies at a depth of 58 ft and a distance of 93 mi from the shore. Each year a juried selection of sculptural works is commissioned and installed in the underwater garden.

Additional Information

Sunken Spores will be sunk into the Underwater Museum of Art in June 2024. Additional images will be added of the piece underwater! Thank you @umaflorida @culturalartsalliance @swara_reefs for letting me be a part of this years artists! And thank you to the Ellis Family for sponsoring this piece!