Born in Johannesburg and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Jianca Lazarus learned to surf at Glen Beach and picked up her first camera at 16. She combined the two at her home breaks, but also on adventures to Kommetjie and J-Bay - because any surf trip in South Africa is an adventure. South Africa was wild enough, but wanting further adventures, Jianca packed up moved to New York City when she was 17. Fresh out of high school and fresh off the boat, a girl with a funny accent in the big city, Jianca found work in the production side of the Film and Event industry in NYC.

 

Jianca landed like a leopard in New York, finding her feet pretty quickly and working on the production side of music events like The Village Voice Siren Music festival, and also numerous TV commercials and music videos. Established in New York and with plans to travel and shoot, Jianca chose to completely focus on shooting photography professionally in 2007. 

 

With four group shows and Three solo shows under her belt, she now roams the world like a bedouin photographer, dividing her time between New York, Hawaii, along with quick trips to El Salvador and wherever else catches her fancy. Raised in the split culture of South Africa, Jianca is fascinated by the world's cultures on land and at sea, from deep water surfing in El Zonte to the dusty colorful streets in the township of Guguletu. Being a complete free spirit self- taught she captures vibrant dynamic use of color and the truth no matter how bad or good it can be and shows with clarity facets of life that the world often regard with blind eyes.

 

Jianca is also co-founder of the non-profit organization Changing tides foundation. for more information on CTF please check out the website www.Changingtidesfoundation.ORG