This Haunting Reef Is Made Out Of (Fake) People

It might look a bit creepy, but British artist Jason de Caires Taylor’s Mexican installation and reef conservation project is for a fine cause. Taylor has 350 statues in place – all cast from real people – that will eventually sprout coral.

Taylor hopes that when his statues eventually bloom with coral – and they should, thanks to their carefully neutralised pH levels – the attraction will divert tourists away from Cancun’s natural reefs, which are being stressed to death by the over 750,000 people who crowd its coral and underwater creatures every year. The goal is to finish the artificial reef with 400 statues – adding up to 120 tons of concrete, secured 3m under the ocean’s floor. Though we’re all for ocean conservation, you have to admit that the project looks fantastic already, even without coral. I just wouldn’t want to visit alone at night. [Daily Mail]