‘Ko te mauri he mea tahuna i te moana - Unlocking and unravelling our potential to heal’ was a study that held wānanga to gather the experiences of whānau who had their tamariki removed from their care. Jordan Tane attended these wānanga, and investigated how design could be utilised to draw out research findings in a format that whānau Māori can relate to. The designed outcomes authentically communicate the pūrākau of participants and unlock the strength and potential existing amidst the adversity of their stories.
Jordan attended the first wānanga as a designer, listening to the pūrākau of the whānau participants. Themes were drawn from the wānanga and data evaluation, and sketches were developed to represent these pūrākau. Utilising illustration ensured that the authentic voices of the wānanga participants were represented authentically and emotively, as real experiences and not just statistics.
Initially, it was difficult to see how a strengths-based outcome could be developed from the first wānanga, as the stories shared were deficit focused and distressing. However, upon reflection this perspective shifted. It became evident that within the many layers of these pūrākau, there exists light within the darkness. The good and the bad are not separated at all but mixed. The design artefacts became an opportunity to reflect to the wānanga participants the strengths that they could not see within their own stories - the resilience, resourcefulness, and desire to create better futures for their whānau.
