Torino Junknews Jota Castro

50 twisted blue and red neon lights, 50 transparent 130-liter trash bags, newspapers, transformers, variable dimensions

Torino Junknews is a tribute to Arte Povera, an artistic movement that emerged in Turin, Italy, in the late 1960s. Seeking to reestablish a direct connection with humble, natural materials (coal, stone, earth, glass, etc.), Arte Povera emerged amid a climate of political activism calling for the establishment of “another society” and a different way of perceiving the world.

The clear plastic trash bags contain crumpled newspapers and are tied shut with knots made from neon tubes. With this installation, Jota Castro explores our relationship with current events and the ways in which we construct, assimilate, process, and reclaim information.

In 1998, after working for the United Nations and the European Union, Jota Castro decided to end his international diplomatic career to pursue a career in the arts. This Franco-Peruvian artist creates sculptures, installations, and events that address current economic, social, and political issues.

It would be a mistake, however, to reduce Jota Castro’s work solely to “political art.” Rather, his aim is to reveal the power of discourse by frequently placing language and visual signs at the center of his artistic practice. The combination of proper names, the transcription of political debates, references to art history, and wordplay provoke more confusion and ambiguity in the viewer than the reassuring affirmation of an established idea.

Jota Castro uses art for critical purposes by creating interventions that are sometimes controversial, yet represent a complete break from the truth of ideological discourse. He reinterprets visual and linguistic codes—not without a touch of humor—and appropriates existing images and expressions, thereby exploring various forms of communication.