Does the Land Remember?
Does The Land Remember? is a book in process of development, in collaboration with Wych Elm Press. The book, is a 74 page hard cover monograph photo book featuring work from a series of the same name that the artist has created over the past four years. This work is a photographic exploration across Wabanaki land of the deep and complex relationship between land, memory, and identity. This series, anchored in Wabanaki history and culture, investigates the reverberations of colonization, the scars left on both earth and body, and the spirit that persists despite displacement. Through photographic explorations in nature, this project weaves together forgotten truths, energetically-charged land, Wabanaki legends, and personal narratives, engaging with place as both witness and archive.
Artist bio
Maya Tihtiyas Attean (b. 1994) is a Wabanaki (Penobscot & Passamaquoddy) artist living near the southern Saco river in what is known as Maine, raised on the Penobscot Reservation. Her work reflects her ancestry, resilience, and connection to the natural world. Through exploring the duality she embodies within the colonized world she exists within, she marries mediums and techniques of multiple cultures to create new realities and possibilities within her work. Maya earned her BFA within Photography from Maine College of Art & Design in 2023. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Portland Museum of Art and the Abbe Museum.
Image caption: Maya Tihtiyas Attean, Natalie’s Hair, 2025, Archival Inkjet print, 24 x 30”