Matika Wilbur's Natural Wanderment presents portraits and stories that honor and seek to protect ancestral ways of life and lands in North America. Despite western ideologies and systems that undermine this living truth, there remain the “people of the blue-green water”, the “people of the tall pine trees”, and the “people of the tide.” Matika uses portrait art to express the “ecological being” of sitters, imbuing these images and narratives with the aspiration and force of the original stewards of the land, which is vital to not only the sovereignty and dignity of Native Americans but also the preservation and majesty of the natural world.
Matika Wilbur was raised in the Swinomish Tribal community and is enrolled in the Tulalip Tribe, where she currently lives with her husband and baby. She integrates fine art and social justice as a long-form photo documentarian, writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and public speaker. She is the founder and photographer of Project 562, a documentary project dedicated to “changing the way we see Native America”. After earning her BFA from Brooks Institute of Photography, Matika began her career in fashion and commercial photography in Los Angeles but quickly decided to instead use photography as a tool for social justice. Project 562 is Matika’s fourth major creative project elevating Native American identity and culture.
She co-hosts the popular Native issues podcast, All My Relations, which invites guests to explore the connections between land, creatural relatives, and one another. Dispatches from Project 562 can be found @project_562, and on matikawilbur.com, project562.com, and allmyrelationspodcast.com.