Thursday, 18 February 2016 By Richard Misso

underwater contemporary art museum

Jason deCaires Taylor has installed the first phase of sculptures in Museo Atlantico, the first underwater contemporary art museum in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, located in clear blue waters off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain.

The unique, permanent installation is constructed 14m beneath the surface, accessible to snorkelers and divers. The Museum will be open to visitors from the 25th of February 2016.

The haunting project drawing on the dialogue between art and nature is designed on a conversational level to create a large scale artificial reef to aggregate local fish species and increase marine biomass whilst, on the other hand, to raise awareness to current threats facing the worlds oceans.

The main installation, The Rubicon features a group of 35 people walking towards a gate, a point of no return or a portal to another world.

A second installation titled ‘Raft of Llampedusa’ depicts a haunting representation of the ongoing humanitarian crisis, with a boat of figures desperately waiting for treatment and aid.