The Underwater Museum of Cannes consists of six 9,000 kilogram mask sculptures which have been sunk to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
The French city Cannes is now home to the first underwater museum in France and the Mediterranean. Designed by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, The Underwater Museum of Cannes has taken nearly four years to make. Each of the six submerged faces was inspired by the face of a local residents and then supersized to more than two metres in height.
The project has sustainability at its hear and it’s hoped that these huge sculptures will draw public attention to the ever-worsening state of the Mediterranean Sea which now suffers from overtourism, overfishing and pollution but once thrived with marine life. The museum is free to visit, and hopes to encourage tourists to explore the sculptures whilst also repelling swimmers, snorkelers and divers, giving the natural coral reefs within the region a chance to rebuild and grow.
Some reports comment that the mask theme is in nod to the legend of the Man with the Iron Mask who was supposedly imprisoned in this coastal region.
Image Courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor.
