8 Ton Volkswagon Beetle Sculpture Joins 400 Other Objects in an Artificial Reef in Mexico

Sinking junk and other large objects to <a href="http://inhabitat.com/%E2%80%9Csilent-evolution%E2%80%9D-builds-a-beautiful-coral-reef-from-statues/">create artificial reefs</a> for marine life is becoming increasingly common, but the extraordinary collection of 400 such sculptures in Cancun's National Marine Park is like nothing else on earth. Jason de Caires Taylor's Manchones Reef installation, called <em>The Silent Evolution</em>, is designed to create an artificial home full of nooks and crannies for crustaceans and other underwater critters displaced by humankind's assault on their natural habitat. But it also draws profound attention to the long-lasting impact our <a href="http://inhabitat.com/coca-cola-unites-with-other-consumer-giants-to-promote-sustainable-packaging/">consumer age</a> will have on successive generations. The latest addition to this underwater monument? A life-size cement <a href="http://inhabitat.com/volkswagen-to-unveil-hybrid-beetle-next-year/">Volkswagen Beetle</a>.

The VW beetle is the latest in Jason de Caires Taylor's <em>The Silent Evolution</em> underwater art installation.

Designed as a social commentary on humankind's impact on earth,

the sculptures also create an artificial reef for marine creatures.

The VW beetle weighs 8 ton and is submerged 8 meters below the Gulf of Mexico's surface in Cancun.

There it joins a total of 400 other sculptures that make up the world's largest such museum.

The exhibit is located in Cancun's National Marine Park.

Nice and round, the beetle is unlikely to be uprooted by currents or even storms.

And it features a variety of nooks and crannies where marine life can flourish.

Taylor's extraordinary installation draws profound attention to the consumer age's unfortunate and long-lasting impact on land and at sea.