Photography show in sunken warship

A former World War II warship that got a new life being an artificial reef is an underwater art gallery.

The USS Mohawk CGC was sunk inside Gulf of Mexico about 30 miles off Sanibel Island of a year ago. This month, 12 images by Austrian photographer Andreas Franke are already installed within the sunken ship.

The photographs will continue on display through Sept. 14. Each image is encased in steel-framed Plexiglas, but tiny marine organisms are required to find a way into the frames, giving the pictures a unique patina.

For the project, Franke superimposed images of models in World War II clothing onto original photographs.

Lee County tourism officials say the 165-foot Mohawk launched attacks against German U-boats and rescued 300 survivors coming from a torpedoed ship.