BREEF Coral Reef Sculpture Garden & Nursery- Ocean Atlas
Sculpture · Nassau ·
Underwater sculpture park encouraging coral growth and marine life
Information
S W Rd, Nassau, Bahamas Get directions
Underwater sculpture park encouraging coral growth and marine life
S W Rd, Nassau, Bahamas Get directions
"A large submerged sculpture crafted by British-Guyanese sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor and described as "the world’s largest underwater statue," set off the western coast of New Providence and submerged only about 16 feet so both snorkelers and divers can enjoy it. The piece "depicts a young girl carrying the weight of the ocean above her" as a nod to the Greek myth of Atlas." - Skye Sherman Skye Sherman Skye Sherman is a travel writer based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Aside from traveling, she's also a pilot, scuba diver, bookworm, and fourth-generation Floridian. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Palm Beach Illustrated, Atlas Obscura, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"Artist, photographer, naturalist, and diver Jason deCaires Taylor introduced his record-breaking public sculpture to the crystal Bahamian waters in 2014. Entitled Ocean Atlas, the installation encourages coral colonization and deters tourists from endangered reefs. Forged from sustainable, pH-neutral materials designed to kickstart local coral growth, Ocean Atlas is a monumental public sculpture submerged five meters beneath the sea, and an environmental gesture intended to portray the positive potential of human interaction with the natural world. Located off the west coast of New Providence in Nassau, Ocean Atlas is Taylor’s contemporary take on the ancient Greek myth of Atlas—a Titan condemned to carry the heavens on his back for eternity. Rather, Ocean Atlas, commissioned by BREEF (Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation), is a young Bahamian girl “sustaining the ceiling of the ocean,” Taylor’s website explains, as “our oceans and coral reefs currently [face] collapse from numerous threats including overfishing, habitat loss, ocean acidification, global warming and water pollution…” Taylor founded the world’s first underwater sculpture park in Grenada’s Molinere Bay in 2006. The project, entitled Viccisitudes, was inaugurated with 16 statues of local Grenadian women. The installation is now comprised of 75 sculptures—each depicting a real person—sprawling over 800 square meters. Taylor has since designed two more submerged museums: MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte) in Cancun, billed on his website as “one of the largest and most ambitious underwater artificial art attractions in the world,” with over 500 permanent sculptures forged to scale; and Museo Atlántico, the first submerged contemporary art museum in the Atlantic Ocean, based off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"A dramatic underwater sculpture off the west coast of New Providence that serves as both an impressive piece of art and a quieter dive site; being off the beaten path it attracts less traffic, making for a more peaceful scuba experience." - Caleigh Alleyne Caleigh Alleyne Caleigh Alleyne is a Toronto-based journalist specializing in travel, design, and home decor. She has written for Travel + Leisure, Air Canada's enRoute, Condé Nast Traveler, Canadian Geographic, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"Seen looming beneath the waves during my snorkel, the 5-meter, 60-ton 'Ocean Atlas' by Jason deCaires Taylor—modeled after a 13-year-old Bahamian girl—presents a crouching figure whose massive right hand lies flat at shoulder level as if lifting the ocean. Made mostly of pH-neutral cement, stainless steel, and basalt, the sculpture doubles as the world's largest underwater sculpture and an artificial reef that encourages coral growth (I even saw brain coral growing on her brain), provides habitat for marine life, and delivers a powerful, intergenerational message about shouldering the responsibility of conservation." - Ross Kenneth Urken Ross Kenneth Urken Ross Kenneth Urken is a journalist, travel writer, and memoirist. He has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Newsweek, New York, Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
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