The Drowned World

• Susan Smillie, Drowned world: welcome to Europe’s first undersea sculpture museum, The Guardian, February 2, 2016

On the seabed off the coast of Lanzarote, British artist Jason deCaires Taylor is creating an extraordinary series of underwater artworks, concrete figures representing desperate refugees and selfie-taking tourists that are transformed as they become slowly colonised by marine life. [Read more].

The Raft of Lampedusa, Taylor’s modern-day concrete echo of Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. The work has particular significance given the huge movement of refugees across the sea to Europe – and the frequent fatalities that result. Photo: Jason deCaires Taylor.

Sculptures that form part of the Rubicon installation are seen on land in Lanzarote. The final piece features a fence that the figures walk towards. The piece is about the dangers of climate change and the fence marks a point of no return – the figures walk towards it looking at mobile phones and not paying attention. Photo: Jason deCaires Taylor.