Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park

Those who enjoy themselves a nice scuba diving holiday may find this latest discovery of mine to be a bit more intriguing than the typical fare of sea life and ship graveyards. The UnderwaterSculpturePark, located off the coast of Grenada in MoliniereBay, is an art installation placed beneath the surface of the water.  By taking a dive (or through use of a glass-bottom boat), one can see the wonder of the manmade as nature begins to claim it.

The majority of the sculptures in the park were put together by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor. Once submerged, the park was opened up for the first time in 2006.  His goal in designing the park was to make people aware of what goes on beneath the ocean, as well as trying to draw tourists away from the other coral reefs in the area so as to minimize the impact of tourism on them.  It also happens to have a long-term goal of building a new reef by using the sculptures as a base for the organism to set up shop.

There are currently around 65 concrete sculptures settled in to the floor of the bay.  They range in size and composition, though all are modeled off of casts taken from real people in Grenada.  More sculptures are added to the park on a regular basis as well.  Over the years, the desired sea life has indeed begun to take root on the artworks, and many of them are quickly achieving their purpose as host to a new reef.

The end goal is to reach a total collection of more than 400 separate works across an area of around a square mile.  Other artists have also begun contributing to the park and, as the popularity of the display grows, it is likely to attract even more.  This mixture of manmade art and nature is an amazing testament to the changing views in our world.  As the product of the artists’ hands fades away, the beauty of nature takes over, creating its own artistic work.  Eventually, the sea will claim these statues forever (or at least until some archaeologist pulls them up), so if it sounds like something for you, check out the artists' home page for more information and pictures.

‘Vicissitudes’ photo courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor via Wikicommons