Kirsten Lyttle Artist statement
Colour therapy

This is the first photo ever taken of me by my adoptive family in 1972. It was taken on the day that my mum, dad and big brother took me home for the first time. When I was 28 years old, I began the process of searching for my birth mother. I applied for every document I was entitled to; my original birth certificate, adoption orders, medical records and records from the Child Welfare Department. Throughout my adoption paperwork there are many poorly worded and judgemental references to my Māori descent, written in a language reflective of the attitudes of the time. According to a file note, my birthmother wrote to the Child Welfare Department in 1977 asking about my health and wellbeing. This is a direct quote from my adoption records; “Jessie also expressed her concerns about your genetic appearances considering that you were part Maori. She was discriminated against as a child due to her racial background, and was worried that you would have to go through the same.” Like many women of colour, my skin colour has affected my life and the lives of others around me since birth. Colour is not fixed, but fluid; changing with both age and seasons. To some I am too pale, to others too dark. I am simply the colour that was handed down.