Teretere Moana is a navigational methodology that I have developed to describe a way of utilising researching skills towards the creation of an animation for a media art installation. This methodology encompasses the what, where, why and how, I developed an artwork, which started from an intuitive vision. This methodology is a heuristic inquiry, as it comes from a place of informed subjectivity and intuition (Ings, 2002). The concept for my research came from an ancient story relating to the Takitumu vaka which arrived in Rarotonga possibly during 1100-1200 AD. My methodology entwines old traditional knowledge through storytelling passed down by our tupunas, and with the stories told, we use them as a guidance platform for today. Adapting the old way of completing a task, we interlace our knowledge/intelligence, our ideas, cultural aspects to set forth a task at hand.

An essential reference in this journey has been the writing of Manulani Aluli-Meyer, who suggests that by using Pacific epistemologies we become unrestricted by ‘objectivity’ and we can validate our subjectivity (Aluli-Meyer, 2006). Sometimes we see it as a ‘whole’, (a sense of knowing the outcome or a rough draft) and here we look for the start of the journey, by building the foundation. A foundational concept is a mapping tool, and from this structure, I work backward to achieve the result of my initial vision. Seeing the completion from the beginning, I enter a journey toward the unknown that lies in-between, to tell the story of my ancestor Ka’ukura.