Simon Morris

Simon Morris, Sculptor

Born in London, England, in 1958, Simon immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1966, settling in Vancouver, British Columbia. A certified SCUBA diver at fifteen, Simon became involved in the recreational diving industry in 1975, providing the opportunity to travel to some of the world's most remote ocean regions, such as the Beaufort Sea, the Arctic Ocean, the Pribiloff Islands in the Bering Sea, the North Sea, and many other better known diving locations. Interaction with marine mammals on these journeys kindled a desire to represent these great creatures in cast bronze sculpture. In 1986, Simon was commissioned to create a nine-foot tall bronze statue of a mermaid to be placed near Powell River, British Columbia. Installed sixty feet underwater, the Emerald Princess has become a world famous icon, and attracts divers from around the globe. A second casting of the mermaid was installed underwater at Sunset House in Grand Cayman, British West Indies. This mermaid, titled 'Amphitrite', has since been voted by Scuba Diving Magazine as the #1 shore dive on Grand Cayman. Most recently, Simon created "The Guardian of the Reef" which was placed by Divetech at Lighthouse Point In Grand Cayman

Simon also creates figurative sculpture depicting classic seafarers, scuba divers, etc., including "Tradition" unveiled by HRH Prince Edward in Georgetown, Grand Cayman on May 10, 2004 - the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Cayman Islands by Columbus.Simon's limited edition bronze sculptures are displayed in private and corporate collections in Argentinean Patagonia, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Grand Cayman, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, & the United States including Hawaii.

His work has been chosen for many awards including the Ontario Underwater Council's "Canadian Underwater Achievement Award", the "Ocean Pioneer Award" presented to Jim Willoughby, Phil Nyutten, and Dr. Michael Lepawski, and the Apnea World Championships.

P.A.D.I. also commissioned Simon to create life size busts of its founders, John Cronin and Ralph Erickson, for placement in their Founders' Hall in California.

Simon received the Canadian National Underwater Achievement Award in 1990 and an appreciation award from the SCUBA Diving Association of BC for the Emerald Princess. He is one of the founding members of Oceans 2000, a group of leadership level sponsors of the Ocean Futures Foundation, and represented Canada by displaying work at the 28th Annual World Festival of Underwater Pictures at Antibes, France. This festival is the largest marine art show in Western Europe.

Simon has been a Featured Artist at several DEMA shows, Our World Underwater, and is a current member of the Ocean Artists' Society.

Simon Morris lives with his wife and family near Vancouver B.C.