The Gili Meno Underwater Statues: Art Beneath the Sea

Beneath Gili Meno’s turquoise waters lies an extraordinary fusion of art and ecology. The Nest — thirty life-sized human figures sculpted in a circle — rests on the seabed, designed both as artwork and as artificial reef. Over time, coral has colonized the statues, turning stone into sanctuary. Swimming above, you see shafts of sunlight pierce the surface, illuminating faces, arms, and hands entwined. Fish weave through gaps, corals bloom across torsos, and the circle seems alive, in motion. The installation is at once haunting and hopeful — a meditation on humanity’s bond with nature, and our role in protecting it. Diving down, you notice details: hands clasped, bodies leaning inward, expressions both solemn and serene. The longer you float, the more the scene shifts between sculpture and reef, art and life. The underwater statues are not spectacle alone. They are symbol — of resilience, regeneration, and reverence. They remind you that art can heal, and that oceans hold both fragility and possibility.