World Maritime Day is an international holiday within the United Nations system. It has been celebrated since 1978, by the tenth session of the Assembly of the International Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMO).

The 2024 World Maritime Day theme "Navigating the future: safety first!" reflects IMO's work to enhance maritime safety and security, in tandem with the protection of the marine environment, whilst ensuring its regulatory development process safely anticipates the fast pace of technological change and innovation.

Almost 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by the World ocean. We know much less about the amazing and unique underwater world than we do about the lives of animals and birds. Man has studied only 5% of the World ocean, but he is already convinced that in its depths live creatures of the most fantastic appearance. The mysterious underwater world is unique and holds many secrets. The main mass of animals of the underwater world are the smallest marine unicellular organisms (radiolarian and foraminiferan), jellyfish, corals, various worms, crustaceans, molluscs, sea urchins, stars, lilies, brittle stars (echinoderms) and a variety of fish. The mysteries of the sea and sea creatures were unfathomable to people, so they gave rise to many legends and myths.

Sea-inspired art is a form of figurative art (painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that depicts or draws its primary inspiration from the sea.

In the depths of rivers, lakes, seas and oceans there is an amazing and unlike anything else underwater world. It has its own life, its own rules and physical laws. The underwater world can be incredibly beautiful and terrifying at the same time. It is inhabited by underwater plants and predatory underwater creatures that constantly hunt and devour other underwater creatures.

The underwater world in the works of artisans all over the world symbolises the power of the elements, embodies the enormous power of the animal world and the indomitable life of our planet. This amazing world, unlike anything else, exists in the depths of rivers, lakes, seas and oceans. It has its own life, its own rules and physical laws. In the terrestrial world there are no such fanciful soft forms and colourful pearlescent colour transformations and metamorphosis as in the depths of the ocean. People's interest in the images of the water element is dictated by the properties of the inhabitants of the sea depths and is embedded at a subconscious level: the water element, abundance, variety of colours and shapes, mystery. The marine world inspires artists with its mystery and enigmatic beauty. According to the ancient Feng Shui practice, bright pictures with marine animals contribute to the space harmonisation and increase prosperity.   Symbols of fish were known in ancient Egypt, in Celtic, Indian, Mesopotamian, Burmese and Persian cultures, in the art of the Eastern Slavs, in Christianity. In ancient China, the image of fish symbolised abundance and wealth. In Buddhist art, a fish, due to its speed and mobility, symbolises ‘freedom from all restrictions’. Therefore, the image of a fish is one of the ‘seven manifestations’ of the Buddha. In Europe in the 12^th-15^th centuries, images of birds and fish were found in book miniatures and on tomb reliefs. They symbolise the ‘upper and lower abysses’. The changeability of the state of the marine element creates complexity of depiction, but at the same time provides a limitless opportunity for imagination and improvisation.

Separately, we can highlight realistic figures of sea creatures, created by masters of fine plastics. Freedom of thought and fantasy in lapidary art play not the least role, it is in the process of developing a mineral and precious stone that an artisan expresses in his work lightness and grace while revealing the pattern and texture of the material itself.

Album ‘The Underwater World and its Inhabitants’ is posted in the Museum Photo Gallery.