The Gown and the Shipwreck (Dutch: De Jurk en het Scheepswrak) tells the story of a remarkable 17th-century dress discovered in the Palmhoutwrak, or Palmwood shipwreck, off the coast of Texel. The wreck lies in the Burgzand Noord area of the Wadden Sea, where strong currents and low visibility make diving challenging. Since its illegal retrieval in 2014 by amateur divers, the dress has attracted global attention, symbolizing both the allure and the controversy surrounding underwater archaeological treasures.
The project is multi-faceted, including a three-part documentary, a podcast series, and an interactive website where visitors can explore a virtual reconstruction of the wreck. The design of the project draws inspiration from the natural transformations objects undergo underwater, such as erosion and corrosion, which lend them authenticity and a sense of history. Even the variable font used for the project reflects this process of change over time.
To design this project, Superaarde used the typefaces Exposure (Federico Parra Barrios, 205TF) and Sharp Grotesk (Sharp Type).
