Emberá jagua painting is drawn on people, not on paper. Juice from the unripe fruit of Genipa americana goes on nearly colourless, then darkens over days into a blue-black that lives on the skin for one to two weeks.

The system takes that literally. The page is skin — warm coppery brown — and the jagua is an ornamental overlay stamped across it in bands, one constant line weight, flat as a stain. Achiote orange, paruma magenta and coin silver enter only where a body would wear them.