Tatiana Apráez Brings Barniz de Pasto into Contemporary Jewellery

Tatiana Apráez, a jewellery designer from Bogotá, utilizes barniz de Pasto, a traditional lacquer method that employs Mopa Mopa resin sourced from Nariño, in her creations. She partners with maestro Germán Obando in San Juan de Pasto, applying this resin to various materials, including wood, silver, and 3D-printed resin. In 2022, her Urcunina series earned her the Grand Prize from the Jewellery Design Association in Japan, with the V&A acquiring her work. Apráez co-founded the Materia Prima jewellery school in Bogotá in 2004. Her Urcunina brooches, inspired by the Galeras volcano, feature Pau d’Arco wood and pre-Hispanic chequerboard designs, using natural pigments like achiote. The V&A houses 12 pieces of barniz de Pasto. In 2023, she presented at the V&A’s Lacquer in the Americas conference, focusing on community and sustainability in preserving the technique.