The water these days is so much cleaner. No yachts are allowed within a certain distance of the museum. In order to take me to the site and film there, we needed permission from the Mayor of Cannes’s office. We hired a small boat, which ferried us to the point beyond which boats can no longer enter. From there, donning masks, snorkels and flippers, we descended into the sea and swam to the site. It was pretty windy and the current was unexpectedly strong. In my younger days I was a passionate scuba diver and have dived many of our world’s seas, but that was a while ago. Our director and his assistant were beating their flippers hard, working against the current while transporting cameras. I was talking to the cameras, explaining what the ambitions of this extraordinary park were, all while trying not to swallow large mouthfuls of salty water. I feared the scene might fail, but once we arrived where these huge masks were silently settled on the seabed, I knew that we were witnessing something really special. It was haunting too, rather like finding myself in a David Lynch film.
I sank beneath the surface of the water and came face to face with the first stature. There were small fish swimming in and about its form; coral was beginning to grow there, seaweed moving. And that was Jason’s intention: that the water, now rid of all shipping and human intervention, can revitalise and become a home for all marine life. The museum is open to the public. Pack your snorkels, take your children. It’s an unforgettable aquatic adventure.