The Story Behind This Stunning Underwater Museum Meghan DeMaria - Refinery29
go to original February 11, 2016

Check out a behind-the-scenes look at the museum in the video (Turismo Lanzarote)

An underwater museum may sound fun in theory, but the story behind Europe's first submerged sculpture exhibition is quite somber.

The Museo Atlántico, on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, features an impressive collection of sculptures by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, explains PBS News Hour. The sculptures, which depict refugees, are completely under the surface — visitors will have to don scuba gear to see them when the Museo Atlántico opens on Feb. 25.

DeCaires Taylor has created similar underwater-sculpture projects in bodies of water in Mexico and the Bahamas, as well as in England's River Thames. The Lanzarote project, which PBS News Hour reports is funded by the government, focuses on Europe's refugee crisis and includes several installations of refugee sculptures.

One installation — "The Raft of Lampedusa" — is an updated take on "The Raft of the Medusa," a Romantic painting by French artist Théodore Géricault.

“The Raft of Lampedusa”  (Jason deCaires Taylor)

Read the rest at Refinery29

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