Juan Castro —'ESFERA', 2023

Hanging Bronze casted object adornment with keshi pearls.

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, 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.

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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 Jewellery and Object Design at Melbourne Polytechnic in 2016. The connection between anthropology and contemporary jewellery 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 jewellery, all seen from a contemporary point of view.

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Everyone’s heard of a dragon  

Curated by James Lemon and Bobby Corica

11 November  23 – 27 January 24 

Read about the exhibition

Material: bronze, keshi pearls, brass

Dimensions: approx. 15 x 6 x 8cm