In 2004, Hurricane Ivan passed through Grenada, stripping large parts of coral from the reef that borders Molinere Bay. Two years later, sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, letting his artwork work its magic, placed 75 concrete human figures on that same seabed, believing that art could speed up what nature would otherwise take decades to rebuild on its own. Two decades later, a study suggested that a version of that belief may have been justified. A 2024 study titled 'A Report on the Artificial Reef Use in Grenada, West Indies,' published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, found that a separate set of concrete artificial reefs built within the same protected bay developed coral cover closely resembling nearby natural reefs within about two years of placement. This may have been the vision Taylor had in mind.
A reef born from disaster
Molinere Bay was never intended to be an art gallery. Taylor built the underwater park in response to the damage Hurricane Ivan caused to the reef in this area, leaving too little hard structure left for coral to grow on. Taylor used pH-neutral, textured concrete to create the sculptures, giving coral polyps a surface on which to settle. According to Grenada's Tourism Authority, the park opened its doors to tourists in May 2006, having placed 75 statues of people on the seabed occupying an area of about 800 square meters, at depths of five to eight meters. It has since expanded, and it now sits on National Geographic's list of 25 Wonders of the World.
