When we wrote about Jason deCaires Taylor's underwater sculpture park in Grenada last spring, it was the only one of its kind in the world. On 19 November, however, four sculptures were submerged in the Caribbean waters, off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico - the first pieces in what promises to be the largest underwater sculpture park in the world.
They're the first of an estimated 400 to be submerged in the National Marine Park of Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Nisuc. The statues, made of PH-neutral concrete, will attract algae and other marine life, turning them into a man-made reef.
One of the sculptures is La Jardinera de la Esperanza (above right), a girl lying on patio steps, among a collection of pot plants.
Another is El Archivero de los Sueños Perdidos (The archive of lost dreams), an underwater archive of real messages in bottles, maintained by a male registrar.
DeCaires Taylor is currently traveling all over Mexico looking for people to be cast in plaster alginate and featured in his life-sized sculptures.
The Punta Nizuc coral reef, which is only four hectares in size, has around 450,000 visitors a year. The volume of visitors means damage, and lots of it. In addition to creating a fascinating tourist attraction, opening a new underwater snorkeling destination will hopefully divert some of the visitors and allow the reef to regenerate. RM
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