Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Backyard Is Extra Than a Picture-op — It Tells the Nation’s Story

The daylight fractures by way of heat, crystal-clear waters, illuminating the massive stone sculpture of a feminine determine proudly holding a nutmeg above her topped head. Fish dart throughout me as I kick my fins and circle the sculpture, with flashes of shade highlighting the magnificent portrait of native folklore. Her hair, though additionally fabricated from stone, appears to bounce and actually takes my breath away. (Effectively … it could if I wasn’t scuba diving.)

I’m in Grenada, often known as the “Isle of Spice,” exploring one of many world’s most spectacular eco-friendly artwork items. This stunning statue of Grenada’s legendary Nutmeg Princess is a part of the nation’s Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, which is the primary of its form within the Caribbean.

The underwater sculpture park has greater than 75 artworks throughout 8,600 sq. toes of the Caribbean Sea flooring. Designed by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, they’re constructed with mixtures of pH-neutral cement and stainless-steel, a really perfect composition for supporting underwater life. When first positioned within the water 20 years in the past, the statues served to regenerate the coral reef, following the large destruction attributable to 2004’s Hurricane Ivan.

These sculptures stay 5 to eight toes under the floor, making them accessible to divers, snorkelers, and even glass backside boats. The park additionally guides snorkelers and divers away from present fragile reefs and thus earned a Marine Protected classification.

Whereas praised internationally for this environmental sustainability, the sculpture park’s cultural significance is commonly ignored. The Nutmeg Princess sculpture, for instance, is the title character within the basic Grenadian folktale of an elusive princess who represents goodness and sweetness in nature, instructing youngsters in regards to the significance of religion and friendship.

Close by the princess is the sculpture of a person sitting at a desk together with his typewriter surrounded by newspaper articles from the Nineteen Seventies. It paperwork a time earlier than Grenada’s 1979 revolution when the nation grew to become the one socialist state throughout the Commonwealth. Titled The Misplaced Correspondent, this statue highlights the quickly altering state of communication, particularly surrounding this tumultuous time in historical past.

Maybe probably the most celebrated work within the park is titled Vicissitudes, depicting a bunch of kids standing in a hoop, going through outward into the ocean as a logo of unity and energy. Domestically, they’re additionally seen as a tribute to these misplaced all through the slave commerce because of the proximity to the harrowing Center Passage, with the shackle-like steel that connects the kids’s arms. They’re stunning and haunting.

Final 12 months, 27 new items had been added to the charming assortment. These statues, titled The Coral Carnival, are a collaboration between Taylor and native artists. Steeped in Grenada’s wealthy tradition, these distinctive sculptures depict among the most distinguished characters in Grenada’s SpiceMas, an annual celebration of unity, delight, and emancipation from slavery.

“SpiceMas stands out due to its distinctive mixture of custom, innovation, and group spirit. Our carnival isn’t nearly celebration; it’s deeply rooted in Grenada’s historical past,” Samantha Thomas, the advertising government at Grenada Tourism Authority, instructed Journey + Leisure. “The Coral Carnival sculpture captures this essence superbly. Similar to SpiceMas, it’s colourful, energetic, and alive with motion — solely this time, the motion is underwater, the place coral and marine life breathe life into the sculptures. It embodies the spirit of unity, celebration, and the pure rhythm that makes SpiceMas and Grenada so distinctive.”

One of many oldest personas of SpiceMas is Jab Jab, which means “Double Satan” — a derogatory French time period utilized by enslavers when referring to enslaved Africans. At the moment, the standard Jab Jab costume is a satirical depiction of how enslavers handled the enslaved: masqueraders drape themselves in chains and horns, masking their our bodies in motor oil or molasses.

Different SpiceMas characters embrace Shortknee, a colourful particular person with bells round their ankles and a traveler who tells tales of their village; and Vieux Forts, usually seen sporting lengthy colourful capes, tall, pointed hats, and picket sneakers. Each characters put on wire mesh masks symbolizing the lack of identification by way of slavery. They’re all right here, within the Molinère Underwater Sculpture Park, as a tribute to Grenada’s advanced heritage.

These new, Coral Carnival sculptures are the one painted items within the underwater park. They’re colourful, jeweled, and feathered, and radiating the colourful spirit of masquerading dancers throughout Grenada’s Spice Mas. Their eyes peer ahead by way of brilliant, blue waters from their place within the parade of Grenadian emancipation and status.

I glide by way of a number of variations of Jab Jab that line the Caribbean Sea flooring, I spot an octopus slide right into a small cave created on the base of a masquerader, and an excellent blue anemone rolls up her leg. It’s fascinating to observe life evolve on these highly effective symbols of nationalism, historical past, and tenacity — a nod to the island’s capacity to all the time look after her personal. As I swim again to the boat, although, I can really feel Grenada’s spirit of freedom, delight, and resilience reverberate by way of the water.