Under the Sea, Bordeaux Marine Museum, Bordeaux: 31 October 2019 - 8 March 2020

The Marine Museum is a new arrival in Bordeaux, and it’s still not opened completely. Under the Sea is its very first exhibition, held in the Museum’s first room.

The men behind this exhibition are David Doubilet and Paul Nicklen, both photographers from the National Geographic Society. The aim of their exhibition is not just to show the extraordinary beauty of the world’s oceans, but also to inspire greater efforts to preserve that beauty.

This is on the one hand a wildlife documentary, on the other a history of the  photography of nature. Doubilet’s work shows the rich and strange ecosystems living beneath the waves, including great white sharks, anemones, and clownfish. There is a review of National Geographic’s first-ever colour report on ocean life in 1956, showing early techniques for underwater photography.

Nicklen’s work introduces an Arctic element to the exhibition. Hailing from the Canadian far north, Nicklen has achieved a feat of human strength in his explorations of freezing waters. He has been watching the decline of these ice environments at the hands of climate change, and now wants you to see for yourself what is being lost.

Keen environmentalists and admirers of nature will love Under the Sea. More broadly, though, the exhibition more than matches the deliberated art of a gallery or museum.

Bordeaux’s art scene has gone a bit mad for water lately. Complement this exhibition with Under the Sea with Medio Acqua, an exhibition at the city’s Underwater Base on the theme of water.

Jonny Elling

Musée Mer Marine

95 Rue des Étrangers, 33300 Bordeaux