Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the Bahamas Nassau Ocean Atlas

Ocean Atlas

The world’s largest underwater sculpture is found just off the coast of Nassau.

Nassau, Bahamas

Added By
Rachel Gould
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Ocean Atlas (2014)   Courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor
Ocean Atlas (2014)   Image courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor
Ocean Atlas (2014)   Courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor
Ocean Atlas (2014)   Courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor
Ocean Atlas (2014)   Courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Artist, photographer, naturalist, and diver Jason deCaires Taylor introduced his record-breaking public sculpture to the crystal Bahamian waters in 2014. Entitled Ocean Atlas, the installation encourages coral colonization and deters tourists from endangered reefs.

Forged from sustainable, pH-neutral materials designed to kickstart local coral growth, Ocean Atlas is a monumental public sculpture submerged five meters beneath the sea, and an environmental gesture intended to portray the positive potential of human interaction with the natural world.

Located off the west coast of New Providence in Nassau, Ocean Atlas is Taylor’s contemporary take on the ancient Greek myth of Atlas—a Titan condemned to carry the heavens on his back for eternity. Rather, Ocean Atlas, commissioned by BREEF (Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation), is a young Bahamian girl “sustaining the ceiling of the ocean,” Taylor’s website explains, as “our oceans and coral reefs currently [face] collapse from numerous threats including overfishing, habitat loss, ocean acidification, global warming and water pollution…”

Taylor founded the world’s first underwater sculpture park in Grenada’s Molinere Bay in 2006. The project, entitled Viccisitudes, was inaugurated with 16 statues of local Grenadian women. The installation is now comprised of 75 sculptures—each depicting a real person—sprawling over 800 square meters.

Taylor has since designed two more submerged museums: MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte) in Cancun, billed on his website as “one of the largest and most ambitious underwater artificial art attractions in the world,” with over 500 permanent sculptures forged to scale; and Museo Atlántico, the first submerged contemporary art museum in the Atlantic Ocean, based off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain.

Related Tags

Ocean Underwater Sculptures

Know Before You Go

Ocean Atlas is submerged at a depth of five meters off the coast of Nassau within Clifton Heritage National Park. 

Community Contributors

Added By

Rachel Gould

Edited By

cdanesh

  • cdanesh

Published

November 1, 2018

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.underwatersculpture.com/
  • http://www.cliftonheritage.org/
  • https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/a-giant-female-atlas-is-now-holding-up-the-surface-of-the-sea
Ocean Atlas
Nassau
Bahamas
25.007978, -77.550582
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Primeval Forest National Park

Nassau, Bahamas

miles away

Queen's Staircase

Nassau, Bahamas

miles away

Subsurface Bahamian Caves

Andros I, Bahamas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Nassau

Nassau

Bahamas

Places 3

Nearby Places

Primeval Forest National Park

Nassau, Bahamas

miles away

Queen's Staircase

Nassau, Bahamas

miles away

Subsurface Bahamian Caves

Andros I, Bahamas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Nassau

Nassau

Bahamas

Places 3

Related Stories and Lists

39 New Places in the Second-Edition Atlas Obscura Book

List

By Dylan Thuras

Related Places

  • Mantaray Sculpture and Merperson

    Playa Herradura, Costa Rica

    Playa Blanca Underwater Museum

    These submerged sculptures create a new habitat for marine life and exciting diving experience.

  • A sculpture in the 1000 Mermaids Artificial Reef.

    Riviera Beach, Florida

    1,000 Mermaids Artificial Reef

    Off the Florida coast, a whimsical world of marine sculptures are revitalizing coral reefs.

  • The underwater sculptures

    Gili Meno, Indonesia

    'Nest'

    This underwater sculpture park is the basis for a manmade coral reef.

  • “Coral Greenhouse” on John Brewer Reef

    Townsville, Australia

    Museum of Underwater Art

    A series of sculptures beneath the waves promote ocean conservation and support coral reefs.

  • The mermaid and piano.

    Bahamas

    The Musician

    A full-scale sculpture of a mermaid and baby grand piano hidden underwater by David Copperfield.

  • “Rubicon,” a collection of people walking into the unknown. (Photo and art:

    Playa Blanca, Spain

    Museo Atlántico

    A completely underwater art museum sends a stark message about humans' impact on the environment.

  • Underwater Museum at Cape Tarhankut. (Panoramio)

    Olenivka, Crimea

    Underwater Museum at Cape Tarkhankut

    Submerged busts of communist and socialist figures from the USSR.

  • Mermet Springs

    Belknap, Illinois

    Mermet Springs

    Planes, trains, and automobiles have all been sunk as attractions at this Illinois diving spot.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.