A visualization of the five love languages: words of affirmation, receiving gifts, quality time, acts of service, and physical touch. For this collection, I looked to underwater life and quickly realized that marine creatures are also familiar with the languages of love. Friendships are formed, lifelong partnerships are forged, and care is shared—gifts are exchanged, songs are sung, and dances are performed together. This series of unique pieces is my personal interpretation of the love languages.
All pieces are handmade, unique pieces that cannot be reproduced in this form and are made from 100% recycled sterling silver.
The Penguin Ring
Penguins have a courtship ritual similar to a human engagement ritual, only instead of a diamond, a pebble is used. The male penguin searches for a particularly smooth and round pebble, which he then presents to his chosen female. The females use pebbles in their barren habitat as nesting material. Gifts as a maritime language of love.
The Cetacea Pendants
Just like humans, whales use songs and melodies to communicate with each other. Researchers have even been able to identify individual sound structures that resemble human syllables and words. This discovery underscores the cultural transmission within the whale community, which was originally considered a unique characteristic of humankind. Words of affirmation as a maritime language of love.
Each one is hollow to hold your very personal words of affirmation.
Cleaner wrasse of the order Labriformes have dedicated themselves to serving other marine creatures. They enter into a so-called "cleaning symbiosis" with their "clients," keeping them free of parasites, dead skin cells, and food scraps—in return, they are not eaten by the usually much larger (predatory) fish that benefit from this service. This act of service in the marine world is akin to love.
The Dancing Hippocampus Earrings
Seahorses in the wild have often been observed starting their day with a dance. The spirally coiled tails of two partners are intertwined, and the spectacle begins. This maritime display of quality time is a symbol of love.
Scientists have discovered that some bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay off the coast of Western Australia are picking up sponges from the seabed and using them as a tool to aid their foraging. This behavior, known as "sponge catching," is often compared to wearing gloves: the sponges protect the dolphins' sensitive skin as they dig for prey in the coarse sand and among sharp rocks. Researchers suspect that this particular hunting technique is passed down from mothers to their young. Physical touch as a marine language of love.
Photos by Enrique Vasquez-Heredia Nikiema
