2020
My testimony is not just mine. It encompasses the testimonies of my tipuna. My elders.
Ko au ko ooku tipuna
~
Identity. The make-up of our being.
My aim for this show was to influence growth, not through the disregard of our historical trauma, but rather the embracing of it.
Using the puurakau of Taane and his ascension to Te Toi o Ngaa Rangi, I created a show that encompasses what it means to embrace your testimony. To use the histories and stories of your tupuna as an integral part of your own testimony.
Just as Taane journeyed until he achieved maaramatanga, we must continue understanding where we came from, to move to a prosperous future as a people.
~
Each mirror has a connection to each of my iwi, based off carvings from my marae.
The film is a representation of the past meeting you here, in the present.