Project 562: More Than Just Photography
World-renowned photographer Matika Wilbur shares Native American culture in a series of portraits taken while visiting different federally recognized Native tribes.
Matika Wilbur, a world-acclaimed photographer, displays her work 'Project 562' on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Project 562 consists of a collection of 76 portraits shot over ten years while visiting 562 federally recognized tribes around the Americas.
In 2012 Wilbur sold everything in her Seattle apartment allowing her to fund Project 562 within two weeks. In her journey to visit, connect and photograph all 562+ Native American sovereign territories in the United States she seeks to introduce more people to the Native world by focusing on indigenous themes such as land-based identity, language, community, and education. Wilbur claimed in her presentation the purpose of this initiative is to change the collective consciousness of visitors and reinvigorate their perceptions about indigenous cultures.
Wilbur discussed how the inspiration for her project came from her volunteer work in native schools on her reservation. She finds importance in teaching children on the reservation photography and music, despite the art program in Washington being curtailed. "In my classrooms, some policies that I like to institute is allowing students to test with the collective consciousness," which Wilbur described as taking the test as a group rather than as an individual which she noticed helps the students rely on and work with each other. Wilbur highlights the need to develop a curriculum that teaches Native children the history of their culture and ancestors. She claims her approach will result in better curriculum development based on love, and connection to what she refers to as the collective consciousness.
Wilbur begins by correcting the assumption that Indigenous people are to be held to higher spiritual standards than the average person, adding, "It's not like we're all spiritual beings or something just because we are native." She went on to say that just like anybody, they are still affected by real-life problems like inflation and high gas prices.
"We are still trying to have a human experience with all the regular human emotions," Wilbur said. When asked what we as a society can learn from Indigenous culture, the photographer continued by saying, "Baked into [Native] traditional pedagogies are ways to develop a relationship with land and that starts with creating a place-based understanding of yourself."
Visual arts professor Emily Silver recalls how the SMC Art and Photo Department collaboration between herself, SMC Art History professor Walter Meyer, and Matika Wilbur came to be. In a conversation with the head of the Photography Department Josh Sanseri, Silver asked, "What if we had a photo exhibition that spoke to both the fine art students and the photo students?"
In response, Sanseri recommended she view Matika Wilbur's work. Silver said the native photographer and herself instantly connected upon a call. Silver and Meyer’s students from the Art and Photography Department built walls to serve as murals in the exhibition.
Wilbur's wide range of work possesses a message that is so powerful that Professor Silver foresees more cooperation with the Native photographer, such as a Santa Monica College residency, a film festival, murals, and lectures on Indigenous culture.
Project 562 by Matika Wilbur is accessible for viewing at the Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery until May 15, 2023.
