Scuba Diving Grenada: Underwater Sculpture Park

The Last Correspondent is frozen in time, his fingers forever hovering anxiously over the typewriter on his desk as though he is struggling to find the words.

Slowly his motionless figure is being covering in a layer of growth, his featureless face and his anxious pose unable to shake off the ravages of time and the ocean.

If he wasn't sat in front of a modern typewriter, some old newspapers still visible on his desk, one could think he was a relic of an ancient civilisation...

Before anyone has the temerity to suggest he bears more than an passing resemblance to my work in the newspaper office, the figure is actually part of a unique Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada.

And each has its own comment on the world, The Lost Correspondent highlights the rapid changes in communication between generations and is slowly becoming little more than a relic, a fossil in a lost world, never more apt as traditional forms of communication - newspapers where I work - struggle to find a place in the digital age.



Now, Mexico is currently seeking to develop its own underwater oddity, authorities there have sunk four sculptures off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico's eastern state of Quintana Roo.
But Grenada got their first. And its worth experiencing.

For the pH neutral concrete statues are starting to take on a life of their own. They have only been on the seabed since May 2006, but instead of bare concrete, the lifelike figures have become home to all sorts of marine flora and fauna. The coral colonisation gives the figures an otherworldly - some might say disfigured and grotesque - appearance as they slowly lose their human form.

But what it means is that coral has started to find new homes in a short space of time. And some of it is surprisingly developed, giving an interesting view on reef evolution.

"It all happens rather quickly - within two weeks, we will see green algae," says artist Jason deCaires Taylor, who is in charge of the new Mexican project and the Grenadan forerunner.

"Then within a few months, juvenile algae will appear and the project will progress from there."



The artist has gained international recognition for his unique work which explores the intricate relationships between modern art and the environment.

Moilinere Bay is now home to sixty-five sculptures, covering an area of 800sq metres and just a short 15-20 minute boat ride from the resorts on Grand Anse Beach.

It is located two miles north of the capital St Georges on the west coast of the island, within an area designated a National Marine Park. Found in about 10 metres of water, the artificial structures has provided a new base for marine life and have created a welcome diversion from other areas of coral reef.



Most, if not all, dive centres on the island run trips to the Sculpture Park. Having had a brief flight over it (at the end of a dive to the Buccaneer wreck at the foot of the reef 23m down) we hopped on a boat operated by Eco Divers and joined dive guide Marvin for a more in depth look.

Eco Divers is run by two marine biologists Christine Finney and Andre Miller, who have the sister centre Barbados Blue. Based at the Coyaba Beach Resort they have two good sized boats with lots of space and cover. The dive centre itself is a good size with a lot of kit for hire yet still keeps a firm grip on the key ingredient, customer service as typified by Marvin.

As a brief aside, the easy going Californian Marvin is a brilliant guide and a joy to dive with. He has been on the island probably more years than he cares to remember. As the cliche goes, what he doesn't know about the divers or dives on the island, probably isn't worth knowing. He was extremely safety conscious, while remaining completely focused on ensuring divers under his charge had a good time.

Marvin also had an eye for marine life. I felt pretty proud of myself when I pointed out to him the lobster tucked deep inside a crevice on the reef. And then he beckoned me over - he had spotted four in one hole.

On each dive we hit the reef first before making our way to the sculpture park towards the second half of the dive. The reef itself is not something to be sniffed out either.

Shoals of fish dart around, moral eels of all shapes and sizes can be found hiding away, and we came across a giant ray at about 12m. the area is also full of usual creatures as well. There are plenty of shrimp of different guises (one I'm still trying to identify) and we spotted a free-swimming snake eel.

But back to the sculptures. Vicissitudes is perhaps the most striking feature. The circle of figures, life-size casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic background, all linked through holding hands was installed to evoke ideas of unity while proposing growth, change, and natural transformation.

Allowing time to examine the features of each of the faces, it was amazing to see how the human element was giving way to something new. Eerily beautiful is the only way to describe the disfigured looks as coral sprouted in different directions.

It is near to this feature that you should look out for the seahorse. A thick wire runs close to the sculpture and through a coral canyon. Look closely as twice we saw the seahorse with its tail wrapped around the wire.

Marvin navigated a seemingly complicated course from sculpture to sculpture via compass headings, weaving us through coral canyons, above the reef and over sea grass beds. Just when you thought you had seen the last, another would emerge as a surprise from the blue tucked between the coral outcrops.

My wife loved Grace Reef, a series of sixteen figures each cast from the body of a Grenadian woman. Located across an expansive underwater area the work is designed to draw marine life to an area that has suffered substantial decimation through storm damage.

For artist Jason, the work reflects the continuing evolution of the island and its people, revealing itself in dramatic and dynamic ways. With the shifting sands some of the 16 figures were covered, lost until the sea decides to reveal them again.

As we drifted over the seabed, searching for the sculptures, we had another treat. At first glance some people might not think sea grass offers that great a dive, but when we stopped and examined for a brief moment, we were treated to an amazing array of juvenile life, none more impressive than the yellow headed jaw fish.

We had come to a halt a metre from the bottom, everyone seemingly staring into the abyss. Then my eyes focused on a tiny movement, and it became clear. Three jaw fish had emerged from their holes in the sand between the blades of grass. Holding a vertical position, as if standing to attention, they looked around, possibly for food while gently bobbing up and down. Then, startled by a movement, they vanished back into their holes.

As we continued to meander over the reef, Sienna appeared. The metal structure is created to allow water currents to flow through the body of the sculpture making it an ideal habitat for filter feeding organisms, which are slowly giving the sculpture physical substance.

Un-Still Life mirrors the classical composition of traditional still life tableaux which has helped many artists of the years bring their talent to life. Now the structure is giving life to marine colonies.

There were more sculptures - if you every wondered where the mask from the Jim Carrey movie ended up, you only need to explore around here - than we could visit in one dive but thanks to its unusual nature the site makes for a truly compelling visit.

And like the best art, it's a good mind-bender as well, inspiring thoughts about our how we as the human race fit onto this Blue planet of ours.

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