Being a fisherman is a dangerous profession. A single moment of inattention and you can slip, fall overboard, and be dragged to the seabed, chilled to the bone.

Drowning victims are not always found, especially after a severe storm, their bodies tossed by the waves for weeks. They wash up on unknown shores, entirely unrecognisable, at the mercy of complete strangers. In the hopes of securing a proper burial, fishermen from Urk thus wore gold earrings that were worth enough to afford a tombstone even far away from home−a wearable kind of funeral insurance. At the same time, the earring was a constant reminder of Death−a companion on all human journeys, and one that will take all of us sooner or later.