SUICIDE FACE TO FACEKANOHI KI TE KANOHI
ESSENTIAL CONVERSATIONS
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SUICIDE FACE TO FACE - KANOHI KI TE KANOHI (1): ESSENTIAL CONVERSATIONS
This is a story about how a creative community has kept alive the conversation about suicide for the past twenty years. Our hope has been that voices, often silenced through stigma, shame, opprobrium and fear may be listened to, taken notice of and will make a difference to the overwhelming number of deaths we experience here in New Zealand Aotearoa every year. This story is real, often raw and confronting and rarely uplifting. Hope lies not in the tales themselves but in telling them, listening to them and in the realisation that these are a part of our cultural landscape. In New Zealand, Aotearoa we have one of the highest suicide rates per capita in the OECD. Yet suicides have never been as widely or continuously reported on as motor vehicle deaths, which are half the yearly suicide rate. In 2020, 320 people were killed on New Zealand roads, while 650 died by suicide. In a country described recently by the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as a team of 5 million, able to beat the spread of Covid-19, this team has never been galvanised to address the issue of suicide although these deaths are ongoing, numerous and continue to impact heavily upon the population. It is likely that most of our population has been touched by suicide; with 6 degrees of separation in a small country dissolving into two, it inevitably impacts everyone’s lives. Depot Artspace’ preoccupation with the need to highlight and address the issue of suicide in the past twenty years was because of the extent of its toll on the creative sector and on the communities of which it is a part. And because we are a grass roots creative space, our experience is raw and real. This essay interfaces with some of the people whose lives have been either lost or impacted by suicide. Depot Artspace is a socially conscious creative community based in NZ’s largest city, Auckland and in the Hokianga, the Far North of the North Island. The two regions could not be more disparate. Auckland is multicultural, increasingly gentrified and affluent. The Hokianga has the lowest income per capita in the country, the population is 73% Maori, is infrastucturally under-resourced, and has been described as a landscape of deprivation. In each region, the Depot has occupied a unique space as an inclusive creative environment where all practices are recognised, where creatives are themselves welcomed and encouraged to develop their work and audiences are engaged in the creative experience. In Maori terminology, or te reo Maori, awhi (embrace), aroha (love) and manaakitanga prevail and are embraced by wairua. (1)
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When the Depot, initially addressed the issue of suicide, these considerations were, and remain the primary points of reference and connection. The reduction or objectification of suicide to statistical analysis, we discovered, obscured those who suicided and further alienated their whanau or family from both their loved one and the society they inhabit. The pain suffered therefore found no source of succour, became internalised and intensified. It formed from the inside out a new ‘skin’, or a persona both prophylactic and impenetrable. This outcome in turn afforded no entry point for those who may have expressed sympathy or support.there is an opportunity to reap the benefits of a vibrant and cohesive creative sector. Both in and out of academia the issue of suicide has been assailed by statistics; the import of the act has been muffled by the reduction of individuals with real pain, real desperation, and real despair to the ongoing sub-total they will ultimately be added to. The ethos that has guided our approach to suicide is encapsulated in a Maori whakataukī or proverb. ‘he aha te mea nui o te ao? Māku e kī atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata’ ‘what is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people’
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WHY? YOUTH SUICIDE AWARENESS EXHIBITION
In 2001, Depot initiated an exhibition on youth suicide, the result of a spate of deaths in the local secondary school, Takapuna Grammar School, of male students described as outsiders, who did not fit accepted school stereotype or subscribe to the predominant expressions of male culture, ‘followers of morbid music and goth sub-culture’. Page 234-235, John Weaver, Sorrows of a Century, 2014 Up to this time suicide was largely hidden behind veils of fear, secrecy, humiliation and opprobrium that both obscured and suppressed its impact on the lives of those immediately affected, and the social wellbeing of our society. Titled ‘WHY?’ the exhibition both posed and exposed this universal and largely unanswerable question, and provided a forum and unrestrained opportunities for participation in what has become, here at the Depot, an ongoing discussion. WHY? comprised paintings, poetry, and a memory wall where visitors were able to write messages to or about those they knew who had taken their lives. Three local support groups, Youthline, the LGBT collective, Rainbow Youth, and Children’s Art House, each of whom sought platforms for open discussion, supported the initiative. Up to this time, institutions such as schools, clubs, churches were impenetrable fortresses, protecting themselves, as much as their ‘wards’, against the stigma of suicide and other socially proscribed behaviours or conditions, as well as impinging upon their power. Carol Ascher, Gaining Control of Violence in Schools: A View from the Field. ERIC Digest No. 100. 1994
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Artist Jan Harris, who compiled a collage of her brother’s life up to the time he “drove his car to the bottom of the road and gassed himself”, said that he “could never find the right space for belonging in his family or the community.” Devonport Flagstaff, Page 15 September 7, 2000
Fourteen year old Takapuna Grammar student, Oliver Danzey shocked his family, school and community when he took his own life. Musical, artistic, studious, the only signs of depression were withdrawal from his friends. “The school was worried about copy-cat repercussions, and kept his death low profile…. not wanting to glorify it in any way.” Ibid page 16
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WHY?, together with the workshops and talks held by these groups broke a long-held silence, questioned and challenged taboos, and in most instances proved them to be at least questionable if not unfounded: • Talking about suicide is likely to inflame the issue • Discussion should be left to the experts • Young people shouldn’t take part in the discussion – they’re susceptible • It’s a mental health issue; fragile people are vulnerable The exhibition and events were pertinent and potent and grew in presence as more people – of all generations, interest groups and agencies – began to engage with the issues addressed. W W W . D E P O R T A R T S P A C E . C O . N Z
THE DEVONPORT FLAGSTAFF: THE POSITIVE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
Another significant ally in our endeavours to bring to light and develop an ongoing conversation about suicide was the local community newspaper, Devonport Flagstaff (2). The Flagstaff followed the exhibition, its precipitating factors and the responses to it. The suicides it reported on, with sensitivity and candour contextualised and provided the necessary urgency and gravity to address the issue. While the media have been regarded with some trepidation when reporting on sensitive and potentially incendiary subjects, they have increasingly become recognised as a source of prevention. “ Our work indicates that media campaigns should be considered in the suite of interventions that might be used to prevent suicide. Evidence for their effectiveness is still amassing, but there are strong suggestions that they can achieve positive results in terms of certain suicide-related outcomes. Suicide Prevention Media Campaigns: A Systematic Literature Review, 2017 Jane Pirkis, Alyssia Rossetto, Angela Nicholas ,Maria Ftanou, Jo Robinson, Nicola Reavley
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LIGHT: AN EXHIBITION RESPONDING TO THE POETRY OF KIRIN CERISE 1968-2000
In 2003, Depot Artspace hosted an exhibition, Light where established New Zealand artists each produced a work that referenced the poems of Kirin Cerise, a poet who took her life in 2000. The exhibition was organised by the poet’s mother Lyndsay Brock, with the intention to both surface and widen the spectrum of perspectives on suicide in an open environment. “After her death, a friend suggested that I hold an exhibition and ask artists to create works based on Kirin’s poems. All twenty eight artists I called agreed straight away and putting together the exhibition was a journey paved with generosity and kindness.” NZ Mental Health Services, 2003 In this exhibition, opened by Minister of Parliament, Jim Anderton, whose own daughter died by suicide, the ‘allowed space’ of subjective response created an environment where artists engaged openly with Kirin Cerise through their work and her poetry, and in turn for the audience to gain understanding through multifaceted interactions with a diversity of ‘voices’, images and objects. The silence was broken and the conversations began.
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The exhibition resulted in a publication of her daughter’s poetry, Feels Like Thunder edited by Brock, 2005. ‘The written legacy left by the poet highlights many of the issues faced by society, covering everything from love to loss, jot to pain, sanity to madness with a fearless honesty.’ An excerpt from her long poem, Life: ‘depress/am I so ugly? Red trees in my head/reaching for the great synaptic leap/if I could reme
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A BOOK RESPONDING TO SUICIDE: THE CONTEXT
In 2013, the issue of suicide publicly resurfaced in New Zealand. The marginalisation of suicide and its lack of ongoing visibility often causes a re-focus with the deaths of high-profile figures or a spike in suicides. The local community in which the Depot is based, along with the creative community it serves, experienced both these phenomena around this time. Among high-profile suicides was Sam Prebble, ‘a stalwart of the Auckland music scene, (who) played in a myriad New Zealand bands. His musical and personal influence were wide and his death both widely and deeply felt. “We are heartbroken to lose our dearest companion and are doing everything we can to stay strong and rally support for one another and Sam’s family. We will do all we can to honour his life and outstanding musical legacy and in time share more with you all. I hope you can bear with us as we come to terms with his loss and our grief - our hearts go out to you now.” https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/8921/RIP-Sam-Prebble.utr
Sam Prebble, centre with violin, at the opening of a Depot Artspace exhibition 2012
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‘Stigma, particularly surrounding mental disorders and suicide, means many people thinking of taking their own life or who have attempted suicide are not seeking help and are therefore not getting the help they need. The prevention of suicide has not been adequately addressed due to a lack of awareness of suicide as a major public health problem and the taboo in many societies to openly discuss it.’ World Health Organisation on Suicide 2017 Our approach to addressing this once again, was an exhibition, Escape Artists, which supported the funding of a publication that featured contributors speaking out on suicide as part of a process of prevention.
THE ROARING SILENCE: A BOOK ABOUT SUICIDE AWARENESS The Roaring Silence is a book about suicide awareness, comprising contributions from seventy nine artists, writers, poets, and a few professionals from all generations and backgrounds, and from throughout the country who collectively communicated the message that ‘life is both dark and bright and that none of us is immune from times of shadow.’ The Roaring Silence, 2015 It was prefaced by the following statement, which to some extent reflects ongoing concerns: ‘In Aotearoa New Zealand, this country, our home, suicide takes many more lives than the road toll. Yet for many years, suicide has been shrouded in secrecy, both in our daily lives and in the media. Suicide has been positioned as a dark taboo too dangerous to discuss, or too shameful to admit to. At the same time, the problem of suicide has grown.’ Amelia Harris, editor The Roaring Silence, 2015 The approach to The Roaring Silence, a compendium of essays, interviews, art, poetry, and prose about suicide was an opening up of the conversation. Editor, Amelia Harris introduced the process and ethos of the publication: ‘With a sensitive topic like suicide, the ‘how’ became really important. Here’s a few of the ‘hows’ that were essential to the process of making this book. • We communicated with the contributors individually, and checked in with some of the writers of more ‘raw’ work, so make sure they had good support systems around them • We really listened to people. Giving someone your whole attention can sometimes be a simple way of supporting them • We encouraged people. We celebrated the contributions and the contributors and encouraged them to make more • We asked them to keep in touch. With 79 contributors, we have a community of people that are interested on speaking up about this important social issue • We want to continue the dialogue by developing a tumblr for future contributions: http://theroaringsilence-web.tumblr.com/’
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A positive consequence of the publication was the self-empowerment catalysed among its contributors and its readers. Each found a place in the publication which resonated with or described their own lives and from which they were able to emerge as an acknowledged. The Roaring Silence was also a bridge between Auckland Tamaki Makaurau and the Hokianga in New Zealand’s Far North. The Hokianga, in its isolation and lack of access to basic resources such as public transport, postal services, internet connection and work opportunities has been described as ‘a landscape of deprivation.’ TREASURY WORKING PAPER 01/09 Deprivation in New Zealand: Regional Patterns and Changes David C. Maré, Peter Mawson & Jason Timmins Such is the deprivation that Hokianga resident and voluntary worker, Lorene Royal remarks, “In our town, the fire brigade has more callouts for accidents, medical emergencies and suicides than it does for fires. The sound of the siren carries across the waters to the north side of the Hokianga Harbour. For many of us, it raises fears and prayers, as we wait for the fallout. As we wait to know if it’s one of ours who’s hurt or dead….. A woman took her own life in a neighbouring street. What’s distressing is that she was isolated in every sense. Her contact with the outside world had been reduced to the mental health care workers who were alerted to check on her when she didn’t pick up her medication.” E Tangata, 2 February, 2020 Lorene Royal.
Lorene Royal, photographed at the top of her street, in the Hokianga in the Far North.
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Finding a common ground that transcended cultural, social and economic disparity was the work and outcome of The Roaring Silence and is the objective of each of Depot Artspace’ initiatives. In addressing the issue of suicide as matter of concern and of shared experience for all people it created a bond of understanding. While the causes of suicide are complex and often incomprehensible, the intention of Depot Artspace was never to ‘solve’ or make sense of suicide but to develop a ground of tolerance and mutual support on which to collectively stand. In her opinion piece, ‘Breaking the Silence’, Te Karaka, 2016, on the suicide of her son, Nicky Stevens, Jane Stevens says “New Zealanders are in denial and choked in shame” about the high suicide rate. “Over the last eight years I believe we’ve seen a shift in society’s preparedness to have a more open conversation about suicide, but we are not seeing any movement in what is an unfortunate static annual figure.”
CONCLUSION In its approach to suicide prevention, Depot Artspace is aware that there is no single silver bullet. The national statistics on suicide are entrenched and unrelenting and this fact has been the catalyst for an ongoing response in a form that accords with the Depot’s philosophy/kaupapa, a deeply held belief that actively inclusive environments, which facilitate conversations and build relationships, are the cornerstones of wellbeing. In two communities, the Hokianga and Auckland Tamaki Makaurau, which are disparate socially, economically and culturally, many of the characteristics that encapsulate Depot Artspace’ relationship with its creatives and audiences are of mutual relevance. Because they are fundamental to human interaction and engagement, they transcend social conditions and create a bridge of affinity and trust between each environment and among those who populate each community. This approach represents the Maori concept kanohi ki te kanohi which, in te reo Māori literally translated means face to face. The social meaning of the phrase emphasises physical presence and even a sense of commitment, to family, place and kaupapa. It highlights the importance of contact and connection and is intrinsic to strengthening both relationships and one’s sense place and belonging in the community. ‘Kanohi ki te kanohi has become increasingly difficult to achieve in the contemporary setting, as connection or a sense of belonging become weak or lost.’ Kanohi ki te kanohi – A Thing of the Past? Examining the Notion of “Virtual” Ahikā and the Implications for Kanohi ki te Kanohi, Acushla Deanne O’Carroll Depot Artspace therefore continues its ongoing attention to each community and its well-being through the values it upholds and consciously embodies. Although only a few studies have investigated a community-based support for suicidal prevention (Oquendo et al., 2005), Depot Artspace can affirm that each of its initiatives has succeeded in starting what have become enduring conversations.
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NOTES
(1) Glossary In a colonised country, keeping alive the indigenous language is essential to cultural sustainability and wellbeing. Hence the use of te reo, or Maori words wherever possible and their clarification in this glossary. Maori are tangata whenua, the people of the land, the first settlers in Aotearoa New Zealand and their affiliation to the land is their point of mana respect, identity and belonging. “We know connection to identity is a protective force. And there is a huge lack of access to a strong, cohesive cultural history in New Zealand. When Maori have access to their language, genealogy, whakapapa and marae, they are really strong preventive measures against mental distress and suicide.” One of NZ’s great poets, Hone Tuwhare was a strong advocate for the inclusion of glossaries and footnotes. And in many instances, Maori words add deeper meaning or additional content to a definition or phrase in this paper. Hone Tuwhare - A Biography Janet Hunt. (Page 122), Godwit, 1998
Aotearoa –New Zealand “Land of the Long White Cloud”. It was originally used by the Māori people in reference to only the North Island but, since the late 19th century, the word has come to refer to the whole archipelago. Aroha – Love, reflecting ways people relate to one another, including with respect, empathy, hospitality, generosity and connection. Awhi - to care for, nurture, embrace and cherish, which sums up the way we see our place in the world. The Awhi way is about being connected to the land. It nourishes us, and we treat the land and everything on it with care and respect. Kanohi ki te kanohi – face to face. It is a key principle of interaction for Māori. It allows one to not only see who one is communicating with, but also to hear, feel, and smell the relationship. Kaupapa - a philosophy or set of values, principles and plans which people have agreed on as a foundation for their actions. Manaakitanga - derives from two words - ‘mana’ and ‘aki’. Mana is a condition that holds everything in the highest regard. Aki means to uphold or support. Extending Manaakitanga requires respect, humility, kindness and honesty. Te reo Maori – the Maori language The language itself is central to Māori culture, identity and forms part of the heritage of our country. Wairua - spirit, soul – a. spirit of a person which exists beyond death. It is the non-physical spirit, distinct from the body and the mauri. b. attitude,quintessence, feel, mood, feeling, nature, essence, atmosphere.
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Whakataukī – Proverb. Proverbs represent the wisdom guiding the Maori culture. They are commonly used as inspirations in speeches and also as gentle reminders spoken to each other in everyday life. They are poetic expressions of wise sayings which allude to symbols native to Aotearoa. (2) The Devonport Flagstaff: the local community newspaper Historically, local newspapers have been the prime, if not sole, source of credible and comprehensive news and information that affects the quality of life of residents living in small communities. Abundant research in recent years has found that strong local journalism builds social cohesion. Penny Muse Abernethy, 2019 Devonport Flagstaff, now in its twenty-sixth year, reports only on local community affairs and has engaged with Depot Artspace in the conversation about suicide, its prevalence in Devonport and its impact on the many lives that have been touched by suicide. BIBLIOGRAPHY Penny Muse Abernathy, Why Local News Matters, and What We Can Do to Save It, NYSBA 2019 Carol Ascher, Gaining Control of Violence in Schools: A View from the Field. ERIC Digest No. 100. 1994 Lyndsay Brock, editor, Feels Like Thunder edited by, 2005. Devonport Flagstaff: September 7, 10, 21, 2001 Amelia Harris, editor The Roaring Silence, 2015 Depot Press Janet Hunt, Hone Tuwhare - A Biography (Page 122), Godwit, 1998 Acushla Deanne O’Carroll, Kanohi ki te kanohi – A Thing of the Past? Examining the Notion of “Virtual” Ahikā and the Implications for Kanohi ki te kanohi, Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health 11(3) 2013 Jane Pirkis, Alyssia Rossetto, Angela Nicholas ,Maria Ftanou, Jo Robinson, Nicola Reavley Suicide Prevention Media Campaigns: A Systematic Literature Review, 2017 Lorene Royal, Our Communities are Broken, Feb 2, 2020 | Reflections E Tangata Schwartz-Liftshitz, M. Zalsman, Maria Oquendo, et al Can We Really prevent Suicide? Curr Psychiatry Rep, 2012 Jane Stevens, Breaking the Silence, Te Karaka, Runanga o Ngai Tahu, 2016 https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/our_stories/breaking-the-silence/
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28 Clarence Street, Devonport, Auckland 0624 Phone +64 9 963 2328
www.depotartspace.co.nz
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