A WORLD first took place at Wookey Hole Caves this week, when Philip Gray painted underwater in a cave.

Artist Philip created painted artworks for the first ever time in a cave, over 19 feet underwater.

He created two pieces of work he entitled Pioneers of the Dark and The Source of Light.

For the challenge, Philip dove down with his paints, canvas, easel and breathing apparatus, to reach his location. His paintings illustrated the scene 84 years ago, when Penelope Powell and Graham Balcombe first plunged into the dark waters at Wookey Hole to complete the world’s first cave dive.

The paintings will go on display in the Cave Diving Museum at Wookey Hole, where they will join a new display about the world’s first cave dive in 1935. Other items in the collection include early examples of deep-sea diving equipment used to explore the caves in 1935, such as diving helmets, boots and pumps.

Philip said: “My passion for art is equalled only by my passion for exploration and discovery, and I always push myself to the limit of what is possible to create my artwork. It made perfect sense to me to paint this iconic scene from 84 years ago, deep underwater, in the atmospheric caves at Wookey Hole where the first ever cave dive took place.”

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