Juan Castro’s work is the result of the attraction and curiosity toward adornments that he has carried with him since childhood. His jewellery is created by a juxtaposition of religious adornments, old Mediterranean cultures and civilizations, history, antique treasures, mythology, an anthropologist’s definition of beauty, the Phi number, volcanic landscapes, movement, balance, and the fragile line between beauty and destruction. The mixture of all of this, combined with the use of traditional techniques, makes each piece unique.
Juan Castro is a social and cultural anthropologist, who studied at the University of Seville, Spain. Juan moved to Melbourne in 2011 and completed an Advanced Diploma of Jewelry and Object Design at Melbourne Polytechnic in 2016. The connection between anthropology and contemporary jewelry design arose from his final thesis, which focused on adornments and body modification through different cultures and the way in which it develops in contemporary society. His body of work is based on traditional techniques and the inspiration of antique jewelry, all seen from a contemporary point of view.
See Juan's work within "Unearthed" at Craft Victoria 1st - 31st October 2022.
In first hearing about this project, I began to think about the idea of making light from something that has been dark for so long. Something that is not just beautiful but has a function. The tunnel itself has a function, it allows us to connect and travel and in this way it connects to this idea of illumination.
/ Juan Castro