Juan Castro — 'The Petite One', Neckpiece, 2024

The Favourite is a series of indulgent and flamboyant adornments for your beloved pet. Standard petware design is based on pure function with little consideration for beauty. This series of pet adornments takes a different approach - a few steps away from practicality and a giant leap into opulence. The series includes name-tag medallions and silver neckpieces inspired by Byzantine design. Pieces are embellished with pearls and coloured stones, suggestive of ancient Mediterranean jewellery and ornamental forms. The amount of time and love our pets give us is certainly enough justification for spoiling them with something a little more special than a nylon collar. 

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Juan Castro is a contemporary jeweller and social and cultural anthropologist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Interested in the connections between contemporary jewellery and anthropology, his work expresses a curiosity toward adornment through reinterpretations of traditional techniques and antique forms. His work references religious ornaments, old Mediterranean cultures and civilisations, 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. Juan holds a Social and Cultural Anthropology degree from the University of Seville, Spain. His final thesis considered adornment and body modification across cultures and their development in contemporary society. Juan relocated from Seville to Naarm/Melbourne in 2011 and completed an Advanced Diploma in Jewellery and Object Design at Melbourne Polytechnic in 2016.

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PET SHOP

16 Mar - 4 May 2024

Read more about the exhibition

Material: sterling silver, akoya pearls

Dimensions: 280mm x 13mm

Please note, all works will be available for collection at the end of the exhibition on May 4.

Editions available