Bodies in Transition: Somatechnics and the Experimental Art of Liselotte Wajstedt'sSámi Nieida Jojk(Sámi Daughter Yoik, 2007)

Abstract

Swedish-Sámi filmmaker and artist Liselotte Wajstedt and her experimental road movie documentary Sámi Nieida Jojk (Sámi Daughter Yoik, 2007) provides a unique insight into displaced Indigenous identity. To explore her mother's repressed Sámi ancestry, Wajstedt uses an eclectic mix of techniques, including animation, collage illustrations, photographs, and superimposition. Throughout the film, Wajstedt uses her body as a physical canvas, projecting images of her autobiographical journey onto herself. These methods contribute to a sense of metamorphosis, where the filmmaker plays with and challenges conventional Sámi representations through film form. I propose that somatechnics, a concept that describes a reciprocal relationship between the body and technology, provides a helpful way of understanding Wajstedt's work. I argue that cinema can work as a somatechnic tool that can help unpack the Indigenous body as a symbol of cultural, geopolitical, and ethnic identity politics. I also explore Sámi Daughter Yoik as a nomadic film, arguing that the somatechnic potential of cinema is most evident when themes of space, transition, and the body converge to create a more fluid understanding of Sámi identity onscreen.