Following the acclaim of MUSA, the Cancun Underwater Museum in Mexico, and its collection of more than 500 underwater sculptures titled Silent Evolution, plus the equally popular Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park, a new project is under assemblage in Spain’s Canary Islands. Innovative and exquisitely dramatic in its conception, the new Museo Atlantico Lanzarote is the first of its kind in Europe. Like the original underwater parks in Cancun and Grenada, the project was conceived and directed by award-winning underwater photographer and artist Jason deCaires Taylor. The sculptures in each collection were created by deCaires Taylor and other artists including Troy Lewis and Rene Froehlich.

Works were created in a variety of mediums such as concrete and rebar. In both parks, the sculptures were sunk into place and designed to be of a mostly permanent nature, acting as artificial reefs on and within which a variety of marine life can develop and thrive. Some pieces reflect local legends, while others were cast from actual people. A series of figures lying on the sea floor are visible or not, depending on tides and currents. The overriding goal of each project is to bring awareness to the fragile nature of the world’s underwater environments, while encouraging a positive interaction between humans and the environment in the formation of healthy coral reefs and planet awareness. Other recent notable art installations by deCaires Taylor addressed the issue of climate change, illustrated by four mounted horseman planted in the Thames across from the British Parliament buildings.