5 Ojos: 21 teeth, 5 eyes, 3 tongues

⏲ 3 min read

⏲ 2 min read

Finally got this classic printed: 21 teeth, 5 eyes, 3 tongues. The design many people's favorite — and the one that took longest to get to fabric.

Why five eyes

There's something about animals with multiple eyes that generates fascination and repulsion at the same time. Spiders have eight eyes distributed in different ways depending on the species — they see in all directions simultaneously, they have no blind spots. Flies have compound eyes that capture movement in ways the human eye can't imagine. Creatures with more eyes than "normal" feel older, more primitive, more adapted to a world that isn't ours.

5 Ojos has a symmetry that moves just far enough from the human to make you uncomfortable. It's not completely monstrous — there's recognizable facial structure, there's something that resembles a face. But those two extra eyes pull it out of the familiar into something you shouldn't encounter in a dark place.

The color separation

Printing this design in 3 colors was the technical challenge that kept it waiting. 5 Ojos has a line density that makes any registration error immediately visible — there's nowhere to hide in this composition. Every color has to be exactly where it belongs or the creature loses its form.

After several tests and adjustments, the result is what I had in my head from the first sketch. Beloved design. Finally on a shirt.

“Beloved design, 3-color artisanal screenprint. Finally.”

100% Cotton. Artisanal 3-color screenprint. Also available in Blue.