New Histories: Creating Video Work To Fill Adoption Absences

Adopted at birth and brought up Pākehā, I discovered as an adult that I have Ngāi Tahu tūpuna (ancestors). Adoptees seek birth kin and stories to try to fill the gaps and absences that haunt us, so I undertook my roots journey, travelling three times to Riverton/Aparima, where my ancestors had lived, taking my video camera. In this article I describe how initially I did not find the belonging I was looking for, but through my creative practice of filmmaking, and the three short videos I made, I did connect to place, and began making a new history for myself.