Deep Sea Three

Matthew Gemmell and David Showalter are Baltimore-based artists who have worked together on various sculpture projects over the last 20 years. Their approach to this project was to consider diatoms as inspiration for creating an engaging underwater sculpture. These single celled organisms that inhabit our oceans are invisible to the naked eye, but a closer look at these foundational creatures in our marine ecosystem reveals a vast variety of geometric beauty. The shapes formed by the diatom’s silica walls have intricate patterns resembling those found in classic Platonic solids. It is the artist’s aim to represent an echo of these geometric patterns that occur in different variations on mathematical themes. They chose to do this by using repeating Platonic solids. These forms naturally lend themselves to sculpture in addition to providing various surfaces for marine life to take hold. Over time the Platonic solid sculpture will take on a life of its own creating a habitat for many of the marine creatures it represents while also providing shelter for larger creatures that depend on these quintessential microscopic organisms. By combining biology, mathematics, art, ocean conservation, and inspiration from the tiny diatom they aim to create a unique engaging addition to the Underwater Museum of Art collection for divers and marine life to enjoy.