Underwater crochet for a good cause

A few days/weeks ago in various diving sites on the web, a rather unusual photo appeared. The photo showed a diver underwater, fully equipped and… all wrapped in yarn. After delving into the matter, I came across very interesting information, which will certainly surprise those who have seen the above photo and treated it as a simple joke.

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It turns out that the photo that started it all is just one of many taken during a unique session in the waters surrounding Yucatan. The whole action is dedicated to drawing more attention to the problems that affect the underwater environment and oceans, and thus indirectly the whole world.

[ot-video type=”vimeo” url=”http://vimeo.com/103546453″]

While searching for more information, I tried to find the author, who turned out to be “Olek” from New York… Agata Olesiak to be precise, who went to the USA on a scholarship in 2000. After the scholarship, she has stayed in New York until now, where she develops her artistic passions. Her original works can be easily recognised by the way they are made and the materials used. You can read more about “Olek” and her works on her home page.

After exchanging a few emails and receiving a bunch of information, I finally got to know the whole story behind the funny photo of the diver wrapped in yarn. It turns out that Agata taught herself to dive specifically to achieve her goals. Below, I’ll translate a few sentences that the artist wrote about the whole action.

“I’m a night owl, and for this particular project, it was necessary to get up at 5.00am at the crack of dawn. Day after day we crocheted more costumes. Then we had to organise a boat to get to the dive site where we were going to do the shoot wearing the outfits

I have learned that in the Isla Mujeres area, fishermen have given up their regular occupation of fishing and have concentrated on tourism. All for financial reasons, of course. Fishing used to be their main activity, but over time they have started to recognise the dangers of overfishing. Today, they focus more on organising trips out to sea where tourists have the opportunity to explore the underwater world while snoorking.

For me, the highlight was meeting a whale shark over 10 metres long. It swam up to me and we caught eye contact for a while. I perceived this as a kind of permission, where this gentle colossus allowed me to stay close. So I continued swimming next to him when a second whale shark came by. Suddenly I found myself in a situation where I was swimming between these wonders of underwater fauna. As I was surrounded by them, I felt everything toxic in my life just leave me. In that moment, I knew I had to do everything in my power to help save them.

I quickly focused on making a strong resolution to myself. I knew about the underwater sculptures by Jason DeCaires Taylor, which I had been thinking about for several years. I also knew that I had to wait for the right moment to do something about his sculptures and the resolution I had made to myself.

I was diving in several sculpture sites looking for some that were not overgrown with corals and… that’s when I came across the one called “Time Bomb”. I was surprised how unusual it was that it wasn’t overgrown with corals, and it was perfect for my resolution. The state of our oceans is a ticking bomb and we need to act now if we want to save them.”

As you can see, behind one of the many “cool” or unusual photos that appear on our screens while browsing the endless web and then disappear into oblivion, there can be a wonderful story worth telling. The editors of Divers24 deserve a big hand for their sensitivity to the problems plaguing our oceans and, of course, their ingenuity. After all, what’s worth more than fulfilling your own resolutions, based on your own talents and abilities?

Source and Photo: Agata “Olek” Olesiak, oleknyc.com

Surely most of you are familiar with Irena Stangierskaya and the unique style of her photography. Although Irena usually doesn’t give interviews and lets her works speak for her, she made an exception for us. So be sure to check out what she had to say in an interview with Paul Twork, which we published in Issue 19. DIVERS24 quarterly! The digital version of the magazine is available free of charge, while you can purchase the printed version in our online store.