Underwater Surrealism is a photographic exploration that combines animals beneath the surface with scenes above the surface. The images often play off the names of the animals, their purpose in their habitat, art history references, or the animal being placed in ironic scenes. The photographs were taken while diving during my travels around the world. People have always been interested in going to see these animals at aquariums or while scuba diving; instead I am bringing these creatures up to us.

I often find that the oceans’ creatures are disregarded, forgotten, or deemed as not important. When tragedy strikes animals on land, the stories make national headlines but in most cases ocean disasters are not being reported. This body of work is to bring these animals above the surface in an attempt to make them just as important and to tell their story of their role in this world and to bring awareness to it.

Many of my dreams are underwater and the Surrealist movement of the 1920’s believed that our dreams were our subconscious escaping and that art should be used to portray this. These dreams show the importance of the underwater world to not only myself but also the importance they should mean to everyone. If these animals are brought up to the surface, are they now just as important as those on land?

These images are an attempt to bring those dreams to reality with my camera and process. This body of work merges underwater, manipulated, landscape, and staged photography into my altered reality. Ultimately, I want to bring these dreams to life through my photographic process and show the importance of the underwater realm.

To see more of Conor’s work, please visit his website.