Pintados

Warriors, voyagers, an ancient people and a lost civilization. The Pintados collection is inspired by the ancient Visayans, the Pintados –“painted ones”– so called by the invading Spaniards because of their heavily tattooed bodies. Here, traditional tattoo motifs are reimagined in intricately inlaid shell, a Cebuano craft, and reinterpreted as bold statement jewelry pieces. This collection is an ode to our people’s rich cultural history.

While working on the Pintados collection, I knew I wanted to evoke the bold, warrior-like character of traditional tattoos but I also didn’t want to appropriate any symbols that may be considered sacred by our tribes. In the end I stylised some of the more common motifs and translated these into shell inlay.

I also paid close attention to the placement of tattoo motifs on the body and reflected these in my pieces. Some of the motifs inspired by scales or mountain ranges were typically placed on the arms and hands, so in this collection they were interpreted as cuffs and hand chains. The sun and flower motifs were placed on the chest and face, so these were likewise interpreted as chokers and earrings.

Seashell offcuts from the local fashion and furniture industries were used to create the shell inlay.