The Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, located off the west coast of Grenada, was the world’s first underwater sculpture park. Essentially a submerged art installation, it is one of several underwater sculpture parks that artist Jason deCaires Taylor has created. The park opened in 2006, and marine life has since made a home of the space.
What you’ll see
There are 75 sculptures, all created from material that promotes the growth of corals and marine life. Part of the motivation behind creating the underwater sculpture park was to encourage conservation and renewal of the marine life around Grenada.
deCaires Taylor created most of the sculptures to look like humans. Art and nature collide on this unconventional canvas to create something that is eerie, haunting, beautiful, and evolving. Marine life has infused the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park with the essence of life, and signs of its growth and decay are evident on the human-like structures present in the clear, tropical waters.
Famous pieces
One of the park’s most famous sculptures is The Vicissitudes, a circle of 26 Grenadian children holding hands. Other installations include a man on a bicycle, a mermaid, and a woman sitting on a bench taking a selfie.
Grace Reef is a dynamic installation that fully embodies the interrelationship between art and nature. It consists of female figures that become covered in sand and exposed again as the tides and water manipulate the natural environment in which they sit.
The Lost Correspondent is often also called The Newspaper Man. The sculpture shows a man, sitting at a desk and working on a typewriter.
More recent installations include The Silent Cry, which is a woman enfolded in the roots of a tree, and pieces inspired by ancient Amerindian art created by Troy Lewis.
Christ of the Deep is a replica of the original sculpture, found on land, in St. George’s Harbor. The original sculpture was given to Grenada’s people in a gesture of thanks after they assisted 600 passengers and crew when the Bianca C cruise liner sank near Grenada. The wreck of the Bianca C is a popular dive site, and the largest wreck in the Caribbean.
How to get there
The Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park is located off the coast of Molinere Point. The park is part of a marine protected area, and there is a small fee for diving with all the proceeds going into conservation and upkeep of the park.
You can only visit the Underwater Sculpture Park by boat – and then you have the option of a glass-bottom boat to snorkel or to dive. Diving gives you the opportunity to get close to the sculptures.
A visit to the Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada is not so much about seeing pretty coral and tropical fish. It is an experience that is both haunting and captivating at the same time.
