An underwater museum, the first of its kind in Europe, opens up to the public this week, to pay tribute to the refugees who’ve died at sea.
“Raft of Lampedusa,” a sculpted boat carrying 13 refugees, sits 15-metres deep off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands in Lanzarote. The sculptures are inspired by real people and real stories.
Other statues include a faceless couple taking a selfie, people glued to their phones and others wielding an iPad.
The installation is part of an underwater museum called Museo Atlantico by Jason deCaires Taylor. The concrete is non-toxic and designed to encourage coral growth.
Over the past decade Taylor has built other underwater sculptures from London to Mexico. Many have transformed into artificial coral reefs.