Exhibition

Ko Wai Au?

‘Ko wai au?’ is an age old question: Who am I? Where do I come from? How do I fit into this world?

The 2014 Mental Health Awareness Week focuses on ‘Keeping Learning’ and in this exhibition artists/ consumers from the forensic mental health services of Rangipapa and Purehurehu, and the Rangitahi/youth service, based within the Te Korowai Whariki  campus (Porirua, Raiha Street) answer the question ‘Who am I?’ in their way through visual art works, poetry and songs to help in learning about themselves, and to teach others  more about who they are in a wider context, not simply that of a mental health consumer.

When you are welcomed onto a marae the karanga is the first call that allows you to enter the paepae, the areas in front of the wharenui and the ancestral ground of the tangatawhenua.  The karanga allows identity to be imparted through the sharing of whakapapa and acknowledges those who have passed on – our ancestors, our tupuna. In this exhibition the artists/consumers from Te Korowai Whariki answer the question ‘Who am I?’ in their own way, through visual art works, poetry and songs.

These are their stories, these are their journeys…