Vandenberg: Life Below The Surface

If you’re keen to visit Austrian art photographer Andreas Franke’s latest exhibit, its best you have scuba gear in tow.

The collection is currently showing on a former Air Force missile tracking ship that rests 28m below sea level in the Florida Keys. The vessel’s 61m long starboard side is now acting as a gallery for a dozen of Franke’s pieces.

After photographing the wreckage last year, Franke digitally added other elements to the images, like a woman hanging laundry or girl attempting to catch fish. The photos possess a soft, vintage aesthetic that contrasts the wreckage’s industrial metal. Franke says while the shipwreck is home to marine life, it appeared dead. ‘I thought that if I put people on it, there would be life again on the ship,’ he says.

The etherial images are encased in plexiglass and mounted in stainless steel frames, sealed with silicone. They are attached to the ship by strong magnets that won’t damage the art or the ship after removing.

The exhibit can be seen 11km off the coast of Key West, Florida. From here, chartered boats run visits to the wreckage-cum-gallery.

Video footage courtesy of Way Down Video.