Cayman Brac’s new underwater attraction, the Lost City of Atlantis, continues to take shape, with several new pieces added to the ever-expanding interpretation of the fabled utopia last week.
The massive sculptures – some weighing up to 25,000 pounds – will form an underwater city for divers and snorkellers. It’s the first phase in an ambitious project that will feature an elaborate series of archways, columns, pyramids and various other sculptures, all created from the imagination of the Cayman Brac artist known simply as Foots.
‘It’ll be a never-ending story,’ the artist said.
More than 30 pieces – including a huge sundial and archway – have been sunk in a sandy area off Stake Bay at the Radar Reef dive site. Another 22 sculptures are ready to be dropped this month. Foots expects to have at least 75 pieces underwater by the end of August.
The artist is now working on the Pyramid of Atlantis, a 40,000-pound sculpture that will feature eight swim-throughs to add a little mystique for divers. He plans to create 11 sculptures to make up the Elder’s Way, a tribute to those who have contributed to the islands.
The first elder – Brac resident Lawson Wood, author of the newly-released book Shipwrecks of the Cayman Islands – has already been sunk. He’s now working on a sculpture of Bob Soto. ‘He’s the godfather of diving in the Cayman Islands.’
Foots is also planning to build a sculpture of five scrolls featuring writings done in the ‘alphabet of Atlantis’, a language he invented.
Foots says building the Lost City of Atlantis – a fabled city that has captured the imagination of historians and scholars for centuries since it was first described by the Greek philosopher Plato more than 2,000 years ago – has been a childhood dream.
Honouring a dream
‘I’ve always wanted to do this. It’s been a dream since I was nine years old – I’m 51 now. This is the first time it’s been done in the world.’
Foots has lived and travelled all over the world – his father was in the military – and settled down in Cayman Brac permanently in 2003 after visiting the island for some 20 years.
He expects to complete the Lost City within two to three years, envisioning an underwater landscape covering 100,000 square feet with the sculptures weighing a total of 400 to 500 tons.
Foots is financing the project himself – he’s already spent $30,000 in materials alone – with logistical support from the Government.
‘I could have done this a lot cheaper in the US but Cayman Brac is my home. It’s special to me,’ said Foots, adding, ‘how can you put a price on a dream?’
The goal is that the underwater city will be a draw for divers and boost tourism to the Brac as the sculptures develop into an artificial reef attracting marine life and promoting additional coral growth.
‘We already have people booking flights just to come and see it.’
An avid diver himself, Foots said the site is already drawing marine life since the first sculptures were sunk a month ago.
‘It’s already covered by moss . . . there are two stingrays and an eagle ray . . . and the structures are just covered with cleaner shrimp.’
For Foots, the Lost City is an around-the-clock venture.
‘It’s seven days a week. I live and breathe it. I’m having fun.’
In the planning stages for two years, the project had its official launch in April.
Foots said he never doubted his long-time dream would come to fruition.
‘If you have a thought or idea and it’s good and it benefits mankind, it will happen.’
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