How can we bring the sea into our everyday life to make it more familiar to people far away from shores? Through snorkeling in the sea, we saw a wondrous world of tiny creatures, delicate textures, and subtle sounds that were hiding beneath the surface. We were especially drawn into the world of light underwater. Sadly, everything was covered by the fast-growing and common algae Cladophora, due to excess nutrients in the sea. 

The Baltic Sea is highly vulnerable to eutrophication due to its semi-enclosed waterbody with shallow waters. Excess nutrients, mainly from agricultural runoff pollute the Sea even more, which increases Cladophora growth resulting thick mats of algae, that smother other marine life and outcomplete other species. Harvesting algae removes nutrients that it has absorbed from the Sea. 

Our table lamp is made of handcrafted Cladophora seaweed paper. Through this piece, we want to encourage people to think about how we can utilize materials while addressing a larger environmental problem at the same time. The translucent organic surface is inspired by the water of the Baltic Sea, capturing the interaction of light and shadow beneath the surface.