The sea is home to an extraordinary diversity of life, but it is also a workplace.
Behind our understanding of the oceans are scientists, technicians, and other professionals whose work often remains invisible to the general public.
Their contribution is essential to observing, understanding, and protecting a fragile environment.
To bring these professions into the spotlight, Professor Sylvie Gobert, Professor and Vice-Dean for Education at the Faculty of Science, invited artist and underwater photographer Harry Fayt to create a series of images for an exhibition celebrating World Ocean Day at STARESO, the oceanographic research station in Corsica.
The starting point was simple: what if the professions we encounter on land also existed underwater?
Fayt approached the idea in his own distinctive way, creating a series of sixteen photographs that are both playful and poetic. Accountants, surveyors, entomologists, veterinarians, chemists, cleaners, gardeners, and monitoring staff are transformed into underwater characters, performing recognisable gestures and activities in a world where gravity, logic, and everyday reality seem to have disappeared.
The models were not actors. They were scientists and members of the STARESO oceanographic community themselves. This gave the project an unusual authenticity: the people represented in the photographs are the very people whose work contributes to our understanding of the marine environment.
As with much of Fayt’s work, the images deliberately sit somewhere between reality and imagination. The underwater setting becomes a stage where familiar situations are shifted into an unexpected environment. Humour and beauty invite the viewer in, while the underlying message remains serious: the sea is a fragile environment, and the people who study, monitor, and care for it deserve greater visibility.
Creating the images was far from effortless. Every photograph was made underwater at STARESO, with the participants working while holding their breath. The water temperature was only 13°C, making the sessions physically demanding. At times, divers had to provide the models with air underwater so that they could remain in position and complete the scene.
The courage and commitment of the STARESO scientists were therefore an essential part of the project.
The result is not a documentary representation of marine professions, but an artistic interpretation of them. By moving these everyday activities beneath the surface, Fayt invites viewers to look at them differently—and perhaps to look differently at the sea itself.
The series ultimately celebrates those who work behind the scenes of ocean science while reminding us that protecting the sea begins with understanding it.
About Harry Fayt
Born in Charleroi, Belgium, Harry Fayt graduated in advertising photography in 1998. After beginning his career in portraiture, photographing musicians and exploring the physiognomy of emotions, he gradually moved towards family photography.
Photographing baby swimmers eventually introduced him to the underwater world—a turning point that would profoundly shape his artistic career. Since then, Fayt has developed a distinctive approach to underwater photography, using water as a space where reality can be suspended and imagination can take over.
His images often place familiar subjects in impossible situations, creating a delicate balance between photographic precision, poetry, and the unexpected.
His work has been exhibited internationally, and in 2023 he was awarded the title of Chevalier du Mérite wallon, an official distinction recognising individuals who contribute to the influence and reputation of Wallonia. He is also an Ambassador for Wallonia-Brussels.
His recent international projects include major exhibition tours in Brazil and Chile. The Chilean tour is currently concluding with exhibitions in Temuco, followed by a final presentation in Concepción.
His books and photographic works are available through his website, while a selection of his images is also available as art merchandise through his online shop. [Official Website]
