Juan Rodriguez Sandoval pronounced "Hwahn" (he/him/his), is a Guatemalan-born Latin-Australian interdisciplinary environmental artist based in Brayakaulung country, South East Gippsland (Victoria, Australia).

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Juan's work is not just about creating something visually stunning, but it's about making a change in society. His practice currently sits on the premise of social practice and imaginative world-building as both a cultural intervention to explore and expose the issues faced by displaced people, borders, and movements, with a focus on environmental sovereignty, including animal and organic matter. And to rejoice with the fact that Art is a highly imaginative "intelligence" that champions creativity: whimsical, mystic, philosophical, abstract and many more.

 

He is also passionate about caring for First Nations country in Victoria, followed by the rest of Australia, by implementing the protocols for using First Nations intellectual property policies and consulting with elders. Juan believes that learning from country and consulting with elders consolidates a more enriching and socially aware practice as both an ally and temporal guest.

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Juan primarily works with earthly, bio-organic matter, and found materials, which he believes are living organisms with unique properties of geographic and historical significance. He values material sovereignty, as it impacts the temporality and lifespan of his practice. He believes in sustainable approaches to art-making and recycles/up-cycles materials through contemporary technologies to create a consensus and reflective experience that reminds the spectator about ecological awareness, culture, and sustainable approaches to art-making.

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Juan's bio, like his work and website, is a fluid extension of his practice and an ongoing/expanding exercise to comprehend the impact art leaves on him as both a creative with dreams and ambitions and as a parent.

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Juan has exhibited his work in various galleries and spaces, including the School House Studios, Blindside Gallery, Trocadero Art Space, Noir Darkroom, Kingston Arts Gallery, Intermission Gallery, Monash University, Brickwall Studios, No Vacancy Gallery, Marfa Gallery, The Other Art Fair, Community-run-space Woven Projects, Incinerator Gallery, and at the ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Juan has been a finalist for the McClelland Award for small sculpture and has successfully taken an Artist residency with Brazilian Artist Run Space, Olhão, in Barra Funda, São Paulo, Brazil, and The Land Art Collective in London, England. Juan has had a major public art commission by the Latrobe Reginal Gallery housed in the ethereal landscapes and ecosystems of the Moe - Yallour Rail Trail (which has now been vandalised twice) and is currently wrapping up a Residency with the Centre for Projection Art. You can also find his work housed in both private and public collections in Australia and overseas.

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