Here are some of the most impressive underwater sculptures you probably didn’t know existed

Ocean Atlas

At 18 feet tall and 60 tonnes, “Ocean Atlas” is the world’s largest underwater sculpture. Located off the western shores of New Providence in Nassau, Bahamas, this artwork by Jason deCaires Taylor depicts a local Bahamian girl bearing the ocean’s weight on her shoulders, in reference to the Ancient Greek myth of Atlas, the Titan who held up the heavens.

The “Christ of the Abyss”

It is one of the most beautiful underwater statues in the world. This submerged bronze sculpture crafted by Guido Galletti in 1954 still lies beneath the waves in San Fruttuoso bay, between Camogli and Portofino on the Italian Riviera. On August 25, 1965, another nine-foot-tall bronze statue of Jesus Christ, cast from Galletti’s original mold, was placed in approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) of water off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, near Dry Rocks.

This hauntingly beautiful piece by Jason deCaires Taylor will help save coral reef near Indonesia.

According to the artist, “soft corals and sponges should flourish quickly on the pH neutral cement, paving the way for delicate hard corals and a fully established reef.”

“Nest” depicts a circle of 48 life-size figures off the coast of Gili Meno, a small island between Bali and Lombok famous for its crystal clear waters and turtle population. Jason deCaires Taylor describes the circular formation as “an echo of the circle of life”.

This stunning 9-feet tall bronze mermaid sculpture of Amphitrite, created in 2000 by Simon Morris, rests 50 feet beneath the waves on Grand Cayman Island. In Greek mythology, Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon, the queen of the seas and the mother of seals and dolphins.

A statue probably depicting Queen Cleopatra III, discovered in the sunken city of Heracleion

Since the Egyptian city was lost thousands of years ago due to a combination of earthquakes, tsunamis, and rising sea levels, historians debated whether it ever even existed.

However, in the early 2000s, Franck Goddio and his team of archaeologists made a groundbreaking discovery near Alexandria, Egypt. Using advanced diving gear and mapping tech, they unveiled the remains of Heracleion, including mind blowing statues submerged for over 1,000 years.

The lion statue of the Neptune Memorial Reef, originally conceived by Gary Levine and designed by artist Kim Brandell. It is a type of burial at sea, located at 3.25 miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, Florida, estimated to be able to accommodate 850 remains

The statues of children playing hide and seek in the magical sunken museum off the coast of Cyprus. Jason deCaires Taylor’s 93 statues are part of the Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa, which explores the relationship between people and nature

The Guardian of the Reef by Simon Morris is a 13 feet tall bronze sculpture representing a mythological creature: part warrior in ancient Greco-Roman armor, part Sea Horse with its tail wrapped around a bronze ring on a Roman column

Viccisitudes by Jason Decaires Taylor, Grenada Underwater Sculpture Park “They are a symbol of unity and resilience and an example of how we are inscribed and formed by the nutrients we absorb,” Taylor explained

Cannes Underwater Museum features a series of six monumental portraits depicting local residents, each over two metres in height and ten tons in weight. They are also a reference to the “Man in the Iron Mask” prisoner, rumored to have been imprisoned on the island of Sainte-Marguerite from 1687 to 1698

The statues of Emperor Claudius’ Nymphaeum at Baia Underwater Archaeological Park, a “submerged Pompeii” off the coast of Naples, Italy

The Nutmeg Princess in Grenada, once again by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, is based on a story by renowned Grenadian author Richardo Keens- Douglas. It depicts the fairy tale princess rising from a large nutmeg pod, reaching towards the heavens with a handful of the spice that Grenada is known for all over the world

No Turning Back by Jason deCaires Taylor portrays a lone woman located just below the sea’s surface. Her arched back is designed to capture the flickering rays of sunlight created by the undulating surface of the waves. The sorrow depicted in this piece is a response to the recent statistics reporting how Caribbean reefs have diminished by as much as 80%

Credit: James Lucas