Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, Molinere Bay, Grenada

The world’s first underwater sculpture park was sunk in Grenada in 2006, and two decades of coral growth have made it something the original artist didn’t design

Jason deCaires Taylor made the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park what it is; twenty years of coral, sponge, and marine growth made it something else. The park was created in Molinere Bay, three miles north of Grenada’s capital St. George’s, when Taylor sank a collection of 75-plus cast sculptures made from pH-neutral marine concrete at depths between three and eight metres. The concrete was specifically designed to function as artificial reef substrate as well as art. It did. The sculptures are now covered in coral growth, encrusted with sponges, colonised by reef fish – transformed from the human figures Taylor cast into objects that read as both artifact and natural formation simultaneously.

The most famous piece is Vicissitudes: 26 life-cast figures, all modelled from local Grenadian children, standing in a circle on the sandy bottom holding hands. The figures’ individual features are still visible beneath the coral. The symbolism of linked human figures on the floor of the Caribbean carries a specific weight given the history of the Middle Passage. Taylor placed this installation in these waters deliberately. Whether the symbolism lands as intended depends on what you bring to it, but the piece is more resonant underwater than the photographs suggest.

The Man on a Chair – a solitary figure sitting at a desk on the bay floor, surrounded by stillness – is the most photographed piece and possibly the more interesting one. The combination of the mundane (an office chair) and the setting (the Caribbean seafloor) is disorienting in a way the more explicitly monumental pieces aren’t.

Getting to the Park

The park is not accessible on foot. Book a guided tour with one of the dive or water sports operators based in St. George’s or Grand Anse. Snorkelling tours typically include boat transport, a guide in the water, and 45 minutes to an hour at the site; cost runs around US$35-50. Scuba divers get longer access and can reach the deeper pieces. The water visibility in Molinere Bay runs 15-20 metres in calm conditions. Most of the sculptures are within snorkelling range for a confident swimmer.

Taylor has since created similar parks in Mexico, the Maldives, and the Canary Islands. The Grenada installation is the original and has the longest ecological timeline – the difference between twenty years of coral growth and five years is visible.

Grenada Beyond the Bay

Grenada produces roughly a quarter of the world’s nutmeg and the island’s interior is forested and worth exploring. The Grand Etang crater lake at 530 metres altitude is reachable by road and has a short walk around its rim. The Seven Sisters waterfalls in secondary forest south of the lake reward a morning hike.

Grand Anse Beach, 3 kilometres of white sand south of St. George’s, is the island’s main beach: calm, wide, and not yet completely overwhelmed by development. The Spice Island Beach Resort at the southern end is the island’s most polished accommodation; guesthouses along the beach are significantly cheaper.

St. George’s harbour is one of the more attractive working ports in the Caribbean: a horseshoe of stone warehouses and colonial buildings above a fishing pier. Clarke’s Court rum, made on the island, is the practical local drink. Fort George on the headland is a 15-minute walk up from the Carenage and gives a view of the whole harbour.

The Grenada Spice Jazz and Arts Festival in May is the island’s main annual cultural event. Air access from the US (Delta and American operate seasonal direct services from New York and Miami) and from Europe (via Barbados connections) makes logistics workable.