Looking for ‘Understanding’? You’ll find that and more in the underwater museum off Cancun

The Cancun Underwater Museum of Art plans to add new statues to its trove of more than 500 pieces below sea level in the coastal waters around the Mexican resort town.

The impressive displays have made this a popular tourist draw in a town that’s already one of the most-visited spots in Mexico.

The museum‘s resident artist Elier Amado Gil produced several of the pieces. His work, titled “El Entendimiento� (“Understanding�), displays thoughtful figures seated in a circle around a rock meant to symbolize Cancun.

Gil’s work and “Diego,� by Roberto Diaz Abraham, an homage to his grandson and the innocence of childhood, were sunk at the museum Aug. 29.

Nine other statues will be added this month and in October.

The museum was founded in 2009 and draws divers and snorkelers. The idea was to submerge works by local artists to create a place for divers to visit that would keep them away from more fragile coral reefs in the area.

Each piece is created with materials safe for marine life and eventually may create a coral reef of its own.

Other artworks to be sunk include “Zoe,� a 15-by-9-by-6-foot piece of curved steel inspired by the shape of a DNA double helix.

In 2013, the museum added an above-ground visitor center that includes replicas of the works on the ocean floor.

Info: Cancun Underwater Museum of Art

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