HOMEWARD

An ongoing series exploring the internal process of returning ‘home’ to Aotearoa after living overseas for an extended period of time. A photographic series exploring feelings of nostalgia, belonging, and yearning for a sense of place. 

Time alters a person. The places we call ‘Home’ morph and change over a lifetime. My return to New Zealand was unplanned and abrupt, a result of the global pandemic that uprooted so many of our lives and changed things forever. Since returning, I have found that the smells, shadows, colours and textures of home have elicited visceral memories of growing up in Aotearoa, and the connection I had always felt to this land. By focusing on these details, I am rebuilding an image in my heart and mind of what this place is, and what my connection is to it.

And with each step I take, and each image I make, comes a feeling that I am slowly returning Homeward…

Adrienne Pitts, September 2025