About.
Lokotah Sanborn is a Penobscot interdisciplinary artist born and raised on the Penobscot Nation reservation. Using film, music, graphic and 2-D design, and photography Lokotah’s art celebrates the perseverance and power of Wabanaki people amid ongoing resistance. His art is informed by years of community organizing for Wabanaki land return, cultural continuity, and tribal sovereignty.
Lokotah also works for Sunlight Media Collective, an organization of indigenous and non-indigenous media makers documenting stories at the intersection of Wabanaki rights and environmental justice.
Through symbolism, horror, and abstraction, my work challenges the colonial gaze which denies Wabanaki modernity. Across a variety of mediums, I utilize archival documents, photo, video, and audio to showcase Wabanaki history, contextualize Wabanaki present, and inspire our futurisms.
Exploring the byproducts of capitalist systems through themes of alienation and the surreal, my work foregrounds the continued perserverance and adaptation of Wabanaki people.