Mandaue City artist transforms KN95 masks into works of art

Here’s the eagle-inspired KN95 mask design made by artist Elegniel B. Nangit. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Remember the Mandaue City resident who earned the admiration of netizens including Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia for his hand-painted surgical masks?

Elegniel B. Nangit, 36, is now bringing his creations to another level.

This time, Nangit, who is also a musician, is transforming KN95 masks into valuable pieces with his 3D art-like designs.

Read: Mandauehanon turns simple surgical masks to art pieces

Nangit, a resident of Barangay Cabancalan, in Mandaue City said he thought of hand-painting on surgical masks to give the use of masks, which has already become a necessity for every Filipino during this time of a pandemic, a little twist.

Coming up with hand-painted masks also provided a good alternative to the ordinary masks that are absent of any design that we get to buy from the pharmacies and other stories.

“Nindot ni nga alternative para naa gihapoy style para lang pud pa wala sa panic,” he said.

(This is a good alternative to the ordinary masks that we use because it gives us a sense of being fashionable and helps minimize the panic [that now feel as a result of the pandemic.])

Here is Nagit’s “puso”-inspired KN95 mask design. | Contributed photo.

Nangit keeps his hand-painted KN95 masks a part of his personal collection.  He said that he has not ventured into selling his creations because he wanted to perfect his designs first.  But he does personalized designs on canvass and caps for those who wanted to avail of his services.

Hand-painting on a KN95 mask normally takes three to four hours to finish.

“Pwede man magamit pero for picture2 lang di jud kanang pang dugay. Mo abot ug mga 3-4 hours dala na sa pag pauga, sa usa ka KN95 mask nga design,” he said.

(The masks that I produce maybe work but it is best to keep these for photo purposes.  It takes three to four hours to complete work on a KN95 mask including the time needed to dry it up.)

He said that working on a KN95 mask is very tricky because of its shape.  In doing his eagle-inspired design, Nangit said that he placed a cardboard at the back of the mask to give it form and to help him in the design of the eagle’s beak.

Nangit said he thought of doing the more complicated design as a deviation from the usual “puso” or hanging rice design that he has so far done since he started making face mask designs on June 13.

But he is taking a quick break from doing his mask designs for a few days to also brainstorm on his next creations. / dcb