Shakil Solanki

(b 1997, South Africa. Lives and works in Cape Town)

Solanki uses traditional print-making methods to create both print and installation-based work. His Indian cultural heritage is a central source of inspiration; as are his explorations of Cape Town's natural spaces. Picturesque places recur throughout his work; sometimes populated with figures in ambiguous homoerotic trysts; there's the tension between adventure and possible risk. “Organic place acts as a platform for acceptance and processing of vulnerable experiences;” says Solanki; who believes the visual and conceptual motif of the garden permits both harmony and chaos.