Return of the savant-garde: When objects find a new life
What do you get when you put the wings of an angel on a cockroach? Or turn discarded bullet casings into jewelry that doubles as a protective talisman?
For Michelline Syjuco, these are not just unusual combinations of objects. They are an invitation to look at things differently.
Widely regarded as a pioneer of wearable art in the Philippines, Syjuco has spent much of her artistic career challenging our ideas of beauty, value, and worth. Her latest collection, Return of the Savant-Garde, marks her first foray into wearable art in 10 years. Two years in the making, it draws inspiration from Philippine mythology, folklore, and the age-old tradition of anting-antings.
Working primarily with brass and silver, Syjuco creates each piece herself, with the help of an in-house assistant who has been with her for almost 20 years. Some pieces are gold-plated, then oxidized and distressed to give them the appearance of relics that have survived the passage of time.
But what makes this collection particularly fascinating is not simply how the pieces look. It is what they represent.
Syjuco has a way of seeing possibilities in things that others might overlook or throw away. Wings removed from cast metal angels find a new home on brass cockroaches. Discarded fragments become crosses and wearable talismans. Objects that might once have been considered useless are given another life, often in ways that are both unexpected and thought-provoking.
Irreverent combinations
There is a certain irreverence to these combinations. The beautiful sits beside the grotesque, while the sacred finds itself in the company of the ordinary. Yet, the more one looks at her work, the more these unlikely pairings begin to make sense. After all, why should an object be defined forever by what it was originally intended to be?
This idea of transformation lies at the heart of Syjuco’s practice. She believes that nothing is ever truly discarded. Materials carry their own histories, and what may appear to have reached the end of its usefulness can become something entirely different in the hands of an artist. It is a process of taking things apart, putting them back together, and discovering new meaning along the way.
The collection takes on a deeper significance through its exploration of anting-antings, objects traditionally associated with protection, spirituality, and folk belief in the Philippines. For Syjuco, this fascination goes back to childhood visits to Quiapo Church, where she encountered talismans that brought together Indigenous beliefs, Philippine mythology, folk practices, and Roman Catholic symbolism.
I find this merging of beliefs particularly interesting. In a country where faith and folklore have long existed side by side, an object can be both sacred and mysterious, rooted in religious tradition while carrying beliefs passed down through generations. An anting-anting is not merely an ornament. For those who believe in its power, it can be a source of protection, courage, and reassurance.
Syjuco reinterprets these objects for a contemporary audience, creating wearable sculptures that function as modern-day talismans. They may be worn as jewelry, but they also carry stories and cultural references that extend far beyond their physical form.
Mythology, iconography, and transformed materials
Philippine mythology is another defining influence. Familiar figures such as the manananggal, bungisngis, and tikbalang find new expression through her work, bringing the creatures of our folklore into the world of contemporary wearable art. Religious iconography, reclaimed metal, and bullet casings also find their way into the collection.
The use of spent ammunition is especially compelling. Materials associated with violence are transformed into objects that suggest protection and resilience. There is something powerful about taking an object with a destructive past and giving it a completely different purpose. It is another reminder that the meaning of something is not necessarily fixed, and that even the most unlikely materials can tell a different story when placed in a new context.
For Syjuco, the process is as much about questioning our perceptions as it is about creating something beautiful. We are accustomed to making quick judgments about what is attractive, valuable, or worthy of keeping. Her work asks us to pause before doing so. Perhaps beauty does not always have to be pretty. Perhaps something unsettling can also be meaningful. And perhaps what we dismiss today might be precisely what we come to treasure tomorrow.
A continuation of a conversation
Following her representation of the Philippines at London Fashion Week in 2015 and Paris Design Week in 2016, Syjuco’s return to wearable art feels like a continuation of a conversation she began long ago. Return of the Savant-Garde is not simply a new collection after a decade away. It brings together her long-standing interest in material transformation with a renewed exploration of Philippine mythology, cultural memory, and the objects that connect us to our past.
What I appreciate most about this body of work is the way it encourages us to reconsider the familiar. Our folklore is rich in stories of extraordinary creatures, unseen forces, and objects believed to possess special powers. By translating these into contemporary wearable art, Syjuco gives them another life while reminding us that these traditions remain relevant to how we understand ourselves and our culture.
Ultimately, Return of the Savant-Garde is about seeing things differently. An old fragment can become a talisman. A discarded object can become a work of art. An unlikely pairing can challenge everything we thought we knew about beauty.
And perhaps that is the most interesting thing about transformation. It is not just about changing what something looks like. It is about discovering what else it can be.
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