Shields of Color and Faith – A.K.A Tropicalia at OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival 2025

Lua
Oct 22
2 min read

This November, A.K.A Tropicalia takes part in OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival 2025, a celebration of contemporary jewellery spreading across galleries and independent spaces throughout the Netherlands.

From November 7 to 30, our shop in the heart of Amsterdam (Grimburgwal 13A) transforms into an immersive installation presenting Shields of Color and Faith — a project where art, devotion, and design meet.

Each piece is hand-assembled and painted as a symbolic shield. More than ornament, these objects protect, transform, and connect. They carry fragments of Latin American ancestry and spirituality, translated into wearable forms that celebrate color, faith, and resilience.

The project creates a dialogue between the tropical spirit of Rio de Janeiro’s suburbs and the European urban landscape. Everyday life meets ritual, street energy meets tradition, creating a visual and emotional journey across continents.

About Shields of Color and Faith

Shields of Color and Faith emerges from At the Crossroads, a project exploring ancestry, religiosity, and suburban aesthetics from Rio. Each hand-painted figa becomes a symbolic shield — an object of protection, resistance, and celebration.

The work blends references from Carnaval suburbano, grafite, quitandas, and syncretic religious practices, creating objects that are simultaneously personal and communal. Through vibrant color, intricate detail, and hand-assembled construction, these shields transform jewellery into a language of identity and power, connecting wearer, history, and ritual.