As native CHamoru, born and raised on the Pacific island of Guam, Jerrold Dwayne Castro has a firm appreciation for his Chamoru heritage. Exploring his identity as a CHamoru, his culture is what defines him and is a big influence on what he wants to convey with his art. As a retired U.S. military officer, Jerrold served in various assignments around the world and in multiple deployments in Iraq. His experience in the Army exposed him to different cultures and created an appreciation for the uniqueness of his own.   

Self-described as a "contemporary realist", he draws inspiration from his culture, the figure or object using classical and abstract processes, traditional and contemporary techniques to achieve a high level of finish. His work is narrative, surreal, highly conceptual, and directly honest using observation, direct mark making, and if necessary, symbolism to best convey his message to the viewer. 

Jerrold holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts from the University of Washington in Seattle. He has taught art in higher education in Tampa, Florida and is currently an Adjunct Instructor of Fine Arts at the University of Guam, Mangilao Guam.

 

Artist Statement:

"For all Pacific Islanders, a journey to cross the open ocean demands a courageous spirit. Looking at the history of the CHamoru people, one can see this overt act of heroism and survival. Despite the loss of many practices by way of our colonial history, the Chamoru are a stoic people determined to move the culture forward and navigate changes of time and space, to restore what was lost. The Sakman is a modern symbol of CHamoru resiliency and exhibits their desires to reclaim forgotten practices caused by circumstances of power and struggle. The work that I present exhibits the modern CHamoru endeavor to engage in this reclamation of the CHamoru cultural landscape and romanticizing of our pre-colonial nature."