{"id":538,"date":"2016-08-29T10:35:49","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T08:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scubashooters.net\/underwater-life\/?p=538"},"modified":"2016-12-05T11:16:50","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T10:16:50","slug":"diving-at-underwater-musa-museum-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scubashooters.net\/underwater-life\/diving-at-underwater-musa-museum-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"A dive at the museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

How would you like to float around a museum underwater?
\nThe creation of an artificial reef system promotes both art and conservation in Mexico? Christian Llewellyn discovers Musa Museum, a truly individual dive site in the Yucatan peninsula.<\/p>\n

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\"Underwater<\/p>\n

One of my fondest memories as a child was the first time I entered the Natural History Museum in London. The dinosaur exhibits housed in such a grand building would come to life in my imagination. Galleries, museums and exhibitions would enthuse a passion I have for viewing life in all its forms. I always feel humbled to glimpse into history through someone else’s eyes and be given the chance to interpret an artist’s creation. Therefore my creative side could not miss a chance to visit a\u00a0museum that has been underwater for over six years now and is located just a short boat ride from the shores of Cancun in Mexico.
\nIt took just over an hour by car from our base of operations in Playa Del Carmen, and we had arrived on the white sunny sands of Cancun. On the journey I remembered the media I had followed over the years about an artist who was creating artificial reef art. It sounded amazing and I can only imagine how difficult the logistics were to create such a spectacle underwater. His name is Jason deCaires Taylor a British sculptor<\/strong> whose work depicts the decline of the social responsibility humanity has with the Earth and our need for positive sustainable conservation.
\nA local dive centre would be our guide around the underwater exhibits. So equipment checked, our ticket for the Musa Museum<\/strong> purchased and onto the dive boat for our briefing. They explained that Jason creates pure natural artwork through a collaboration of materials, marine biology and patience. This has resulted in a unique symbiosis of ever changing artwork and a thriving intricate marine ecosystem. The project was set up to help the local reefs of Cancun to recover from the impact of over fishing, day boats, tourism and diving which occurred as Cancun has grown into such a large resort.<\/p>\n

\"Diving<\/p>\n

On entering the water we slowly descended into the museum followed by our snorkeler companions from our boat on the surface. There was a bit of surge and the visibility was\u00a0not the best. If you want the best of conditions I remember from my previous trips always go for the dive in the morning, as it will usually be calmer and clearer visibility. However for me the conditions added a sense of mystery to the tour around the museum. Meaning that the exhibits would suddenly appear in the distance like monuments on the pure white sands. Which are of course very difficult if not impossible for coral systems to take form on. The artworks in the Musa Museum however contain transplanted live coral cuttings from the local damaged reefs systems, which latch into pre set positions on the sculptures. With the help of marine biologists Taylor has produced stable materials with are environmentally responsive in helping the propagation of a coral reef. Knowing the local tide patterns, strong current locations, spawning times of coral and exact positioning of the coral cuttings for protection and food flow all helped maximise the ecosystems potential. Therefore just as a shipwreck\u00a0will slowly be changed over time and transform continually into a reef system so will the sculptures. Tiny microscopic organisms slowly attach and grow into colonies adorning the sculptures like colourful costumes. Which in turn makes you really question and look for a meaning of the sculptures existence and what they really represent? The answer is life for a multitude of marine life including algae, hydrozoans, sponges, corals, surgeonfish, Butterfly fish, angelfish, damsels and sergeant majors, barracuda, snapper, shrimps, stars and worms. The positive message for having such sustainable artificial reef museums is a conservation breakthrough. If only we could have hundreds of underwater museums around the world all helping to return life to our seas…<\/p>\n

\"Artwork<\/p>\n

The underwater museum created just as much wonder and excitement for me now as the dinosaurs did in my first museum visit on land. However I left Mexico with the added bonus of knowing that Musa Museum would look completely different on my next visit, as the doors are always open to the ever-changing underwater museum.<\/p>\n

WORDS and PICTURES by Christian Llewellyn<\/em><\/p>\n

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