Artist Creates Amazing Underwater Exhibit Highlighting European Refugee Crisis

Bring out that scuba gear, this underwater museum is an exploration that cannot be missed.

Jason de Caires Taylor has created an undersea sculpture museum. The museum is 14 meters (about 45 feet) underwater in Lanzarote, just off the coast of Spain’s Canary Island. Taylor has created many undersea creations before, yet this is the first exhibit in Europe and in the Atlantic Ocean.

The exhibit will have several sections, each paying homage to the recent European refugee crisis. One section includes “The Raft of Lampedusa,” which features a group of people huddled on a raft simulating the French painter Théodore Géricault’s painting, “The Raft of the Medusa.”

“The work is not intended as a tribute or memorial to the many lives lost but as a stark reminder of the collective responsibility of our now global community,” Taylor shared on his website.

The main focus of the underwater exhibit features a group of about 35 people in everyday clothing who are walking to “a point of no return or a portal to another world.” The figures appear unfazed, unaware of their fate. One sculpture is even seen taking a selfie.

To create the undersea sculptures, Taylor used marine-grade cement with pH-neutral concrete that is non-toxic. Over time coral is expected to grow on the statues.

Taylor explained to Reuters that “the piece is about hope, loss and abandonment by society. It is about a fight for survival which is happening now.”

The underwater exhibit will be open to the public on March 1. Diver guides will be available to help lead tourist groups.

Check out some photos from the underwater exhibit below!