Laben Sakale John comes from the Hakwange village in the Menyamya District of Morobe Province. He atended Menyamya and Hakwange Primary Schools from 1984 - 1989. The following year he continued on to Menyamya High School up until 1993. In 1994, he won a government scholarship to study art at the Creative Arts Faculty University of Papua New Guinea and successfully completed with a Diploma in Fine Arts in 1997. Laben has been working as a fulltime Fine Artist since 1997, doing paintings, illustrations, print making and photography. Between 2001 - 2004 he worked as an illustrator for various AID funded projects and is currently the senior artist for Uramina and Nelson Publishing - a citizen publishing company.