Janyor, also referred to as Janyor of Bith, was a renowned male Bith painter, poet, and sculptor from Garel who lived during the final years of the Galactic Republic, the reign of the Galactic Empire, and the rise and fall of the New Republic.
Born at least 14 decades before the Hosnian Cataclysm, Janyor was a renowned Bith painter, poet, and sculptor from the planet Garel. When he was young, he worked as a propagandist supporting the Galactic Republic, fervently supporting its soldiers during the Clone Wars, having believed in the rhetoric of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine and the evils of Count Dooku and the selfish damage inflicted by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, Janyor initially believed in Emperor Palpatine's promise of a thousand years of peace and thought that the Empire was just what civilization needed: a strong guiding hand to keep it on a path to a bright future. Although he had created propaganda supporting it, Janyor eventually became disillusioned with the so-called New Order and began creating protest art pieces, including protest paintings on Bith, where he served as poet laureate, after which the Empire forced the notorious rebel artist into exile. When the Empire destroyed a statue sculpted by Janyor on Garel, a small dissident group staged an impromptu protest that was quickly quelled by local authorities. According to HoloNet News anchor Alton Kastle, who regarded the statue as "controversial" and an "eyesore," the official reason for the statue's destruction was that it fell under scrutiny by the Coalition for Progress division of COMPNOR after it had fallen into disrepair and became an issue of public safety.
During his exile, Janyor came to create propaganda supporting the burgeoning Alliance to Restore the Republic, whose meager resources were no match for those of the Galactic Empire. Instead, they relied upon well-crafted messages of hope and defiance to win over the galaxy's hearts and minds. In the rickety Alliance government that arose in the wake of the Galactic Civil War, he ascended to the rank of Propaganda Bureau Chief, working with a small team of ostracized illustrators, beleaguered journalists, and other such individuals to craft messages meant to explain to the citizenry of the galaxy the "true" state of the Empire. Although they were meant to counter lies being circulated by Imperial propaganda, the group was ultimately forced to create lies of its own to tip back the scales and hope that somewhere in the balance a truth could be found.
Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian artist who fought in the early rebellion against the Empire, credited Janyor as a major influence for her artwork and desired to recreate one of his canvases as a moss painting. Janyor himself came to support the movement and began creating propaganda supporting rebellion against the Empire.
Janyor was first mentioned in "HoloNet News Special Report: Controversial Statue Finally Destroyed," the fourth in a series of Holonetnews.com-exclusive Star Wars Rebels tie-in videos, which was first posted on September 5, 2014.
- Sabine My Rebel Sketchbook
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded