Janet Solomon (b.1967) graduated from the universities of KwaZulu Natal and the Witwatersrand, obtaining her MA in Fine Art with distinction.
Solomon is engaged in an eco-social-art practice that uses multiple media – film, photography, painting and drawing – in the ongoing exploration of human-animal relations and environmental concerns. Solomon’s aesthetic of interruption acts as a marker of an acute sense of existential unease in her works. Solomon developed an interest in video-art and experimental documentary form as a means to investigate environmental and societal implications of the pressing issue of offshore oil and gas. Solomon co-shot, directed and produced Becoming Visible, in which she foregrounds animal strandings as a way of thinking about the political impunity and the profit motive in an age of ‘tough oil’ and heightened environmental risks. Screenings of her work have been held at major festivals and events.
She is currently an Emancipatory Futures Studies Fellow working towards a doctorate (WITS).
Awards include: Andrew Mellon Scholarship; Best Documentary: Maverick Movie Awards, 2019; Humanitarian Award: The IndieFest Film Awards, 2018; Best Documentary Short – Lumière Brothers Award: Blow-Up Film Fest; Juror's Award: Twisted Oyster Film & New Media Festival, 2018; Best Self-Funded Film: XVI Cine Pobre Film Festival, 2018; Award of Excellence:Impact Docs Awards, 2018.
