Ian John Solomon (1997) is an interdisciplinary artist from Detroit, Michigan. After receiving his B.A. in broadcast journalism from Walter Cronkite School and a stint as a congressional reporter in D.C., he found his love for community activism and storytelling required a more expansive modality. Ian’s interdisciplinary lens based practice explores themes of self, queer identity, ancestry, community and ecology. Deeply motivated by environment, Ian uses land as foundation and guidance for artistic expression and questioning.
Meditating on his family’s East Side block, Ian focuses on capturing the infrastructure, materials, and environmental politics of home. “City Wild,” on view at PLAYGROUND DETROIT beginning November 23, takes a photo-interdisciplinary approach to bridging spaces that are often at odds, an invitation to view Detroit through a natural lens. Through collage, landscape, instant film, and steel, the exhibition expands the artist’s exploration of place.
According to the artist, “Michigan and the City of Detroit, particularly Black Detroit, are often at odds. It’s not uncommon to hear prideful tones exclaim, “I’m not from Michigan, I’m from Detroit!” From culture to demographics, there are a wealth of validations to this, however, this exhibition aims to entice Detroiters to take stake in greater Michigan’s natural spaces to act as better advocates, stewards and protectors of our natural resources.
I have an artistic practice of investigating and embodying the environment. As a journalist, I fact-find from patterns that ecology and environment offer. As an artist, I seek a deeper understanding of self, community, desire and ancestry through connecting with the spaces I inhabit. My art practice is in tandem with a community practice of introducing Black Detroit’s to Michigan’s natural spaces.”
– Ian John Solomon
