Sammy Hoever makes 3D grillz to honour her Surinamese heritage

Sammy Hoever never envisioned herself as an artist, but it was inevitable.

The 26-year-old was raised in a small village in the east Netherlands, where she spent hours absorbing her mother’s artistic know-how, which spanned the gamut of dressmaking and baking. ​“My mother made the wildest cakes for people. She was commissioned to make one for Queen Máxima [of the Netherlands],” she says from her apartment in Amsterdam, still in awe of the memory. Although Sammy inherited her mother’s penchant for drawing (“I always painted and would go to class with my grandmother”), it was, ultimately, fashion that piqued her interest.

A short course where she learnt the basics of sewing and pattern-making enabled her to take her craft seriously. ​“I realised, ​‘Oh, I want to become something one day,’” the Surinamese-Dutch artist says. ​“So I started creating little collections.” Sammy began manipulating garments to create a 3D finish that, to the human eye, appeared flawless from afar. ​“One of the first things I made was a little top and a maxi skirt. It looked amazing until you came up close, [and then] you saw all these little things that weren’t correct. But I was still proud of myself.” It was this collection that helped Sammy secure her spot at Amsterdam’s Fashion Institute on the fashion design and textile course. ​“I’d visit art museums, and check out artists, photographers and art directors. I delved into a whole new world of creativity.” Sammy even made a 3D molded chest plate for musician Naomi Sharon.

Despite her designs taking off, Sammy realised that she had an irrepressible thirst for digital creation. She had a hankering to build a ​“narrative and not just make clothes” and so fashion took a back seat. But Sammy didn’t necessarily set out to design grillz. It was her late Surinamese father’s love for them that made them a focal point in her work. ​“A lot of Surinamese people wear grillz. When my father came to the Netherlands and wore them, they were deemed as ​‘ghetto’. It’s really important [to me] that people acknowledge the history. It cuts deep.”

Soon, a myriad of characters appeared on her Instagram grid: a ​‘green angel’ with Bantu knots, a scantily clad muse donning face piercings, and a mohawk-toting animated figure with silver, glistening grillz. Sammy’s comments were flooded with admiration for her work, which is how Faouziat Biera Faous, a‑then Daily Paper stylist, stumbled across her via her FYP. “[Faouziat] called me one day at the start of this year, and said: ​‘I believe in what you’re doing and I would love to exhibit your work one day’”. Little did Sammy know how soon that day would come. In February this year, a few weeks after graduating at AMFI, she connected with Faouziat who introduced her to the book Mouth Full Of Golds, an illustrative history of Surinamese New Yorker and king of grillz Eddie Plein, a man often credited as the pioneer of gold fronts.

It was kismet, and the book inspired Sammy so much that she borrowed the title for her first exhibition. Together with makeup artist Thirza King, Sammy began toiling away at her collection. This summer, Sammy unveiled an eight-part collection at the 6^th Afrovism programme inside Amsterdam’s Felix Meritis gallery. A ramped-up iteration of Sammy’s work littered the gallery, comprising characters with heterochromia, pink or green lashes, gold caps, Pammy Anderson-approved brows, and riotous eyeshadow – nothing was off limits. Tickets for the exhibition sold out immediately after release in April.

“I was super nervous on opening night because it was the first time I had done something like this. People were so amazed and some were weirded out ​‘like is this real or not real? Is it photoshopped?” Sammy says of the discussion around her work. She makes a conscious decision to exaggerate the characters partly for her own amusement and to further emphasise the fact that her work is indeed 3D, as she’s aware of the influx of AI creators popping off. ​“I do embrace the fact that it’s 3D so I add little details to make it [obvious]. For example, I place the ears quite high and a little bit bigger; it’s not something you immediately notice but your eyes will probably notice that something’s a bit off.”

Sadly, her father was, of course, unable to be there on the night. ​“I think my dad would be very proud, I think he would have loved it,” Sammy says. However her boyfriend’s father, who is of Surinamese heritage and who also wears grillz, relished the exhibition.

Fashion may be on the back burner for Sammy, but seeing mega Olympic track stars Sha’carri Richardson and Frazer Price – ​“they’re so amazing and inspirational” – has lit a fire under her. “ She’s considering creating a series of artwork around a young woman on a track and field displaying a chameleonic wardrobe. Not to mention, Sammy’s already ticked off one of her dream clients by creating a spread for PlayBoy Netherland, and she has her sights set on Nike and Fenty Beauty next. ​“Both would be so great! I’m considering a second exhibition and a new grillz collection – with added shock value,” she says, beaming. ​“Maybe I’ll add piercings this time. I would love to put on the same exhibition in London, I think people would love it.” Prepare to see more of Sammy’s golden grillz on your FYP and, undoubtedly, in an exhibition near you soon.