A few years ago, while I was still studying design in the Netherlands, I came across a short newspaper clipping. It was a short article about the tradition of English fishermen wearing a metal earring bearing their name and address. This identification card was supposed to make it possible to identify them in the event of a loss at sea. This story piqued my curiosity, and I read more about the tradition of fishermen's earrings. I discovered that earrings were also worn on German coasts. Here, fishermen's earrings were often made of real gold, so the body could be given a Christian burial with the value of the earring.
These stories have been on my mind ever since, and I began drawing more and more hoop earrings that tell these stories. A symbiosis of fishing tools and familiar North Sea creatures. Each earring is unique and handcrafted here in Berlin from recycled sterling silver.
Moritz Hoegemann photographed this small series on my father's ears. My fascination for the sea and seafaring was instilled in me by him, so who better to model for my work than my father himself? :)
