Museo Subacutico de Arte - Cancn, Mexico

In 2009 a monumental underwater museum called MUSA (Museo

Subacutico de Arte) was formed in the waters surrounding Cancn, Isla
Mujeres and Punta Nizuc. The project founded by Jaime Gonzalez Cano of The
National Marine Park, Roberto Diaz of The Cancun Nautical Association and
Jason deCaires Taylor consists of over 500 permanent life-size sculptures
created by Taylor and is one of the largest and most ambitious underwater
artificial art attractions in the world.

The Museum aiming to demonstrate the interaction between art and

environmental science forms a complex reef structure for marine life to
colonise, inhabit and increase biomass on a grand scale. Each of the sculptures
is made from specialized materials used to promote coral life, with the total
installations occupying an area of over 420sq metres of barren seabed and
weighing over 200 tons. The Cancun Marine Park is one of the most visited
stretches of water in the world with over 750,000 visitors each year, placing
immense pressure on its resources. The location of the sculptures promotes the
recovery of the natural reefs at it relieves pressure on them by drawing visitors
away.

Celebrated works in the museum include The Silent Evolution, which

consists of 420 sculptures. The statues in this work show how some humans
see their surrounding and embrace them while others hide their faces. Each
statue was made to resemble members of a local fishing community where
Taylor lives. Each statue has its own personality and features. Taylor made sure
every detail from the hair to the clothes of the statues was perfect. They
include a little girl with a faint smile on her face looking up to the surface; six
businessmen with their heads in the sand, not paying attention to their
surroundings; and even a man behind a desk with his dog lying him, but
looking tired and uninvolved in the environment. Some corals have been
planted on and near the initial sculptures. The Silent Evolution is a two-part art
installation: the underwater sculptures themselves are the first part, while the
second is how nature will transform them as coral grows and a new reef forms.
The museum is divided into two galleries called Salon Manchones and Salon
Nizuc. The first is eight meters deep and suitable for both divers and snorkelers
and the second four meters deep and only permitted for snorkeling.