Growing up, Corina Wyatt always knew she was adopted. At an early age, her adoptive parents educated her about adoption and freely spoke about where Corina came from. “It has never been a shock in my life, it’s always been a knowing” she says.
At the age of 18, Corina was determined to dig deeper into her past and ultimately find her birth mother, which she did.
Along with meeting her birth mother, Anna, Corina also discovered that she had two younger sisters.
“I was very overwhelmed by the whole situation. I felt numb and stunned. I didn’t expect to feel the way I felt.”
Corina doesn’t blame Anna for her decision and is a supporter of adoption. “Unless you have walked in somebody else’s shoes, we can never understand someone’s journey; I am 100 per cent for adoption” she says.
Today, the 42-year-old is in the process of creating a series of art works that draws on real adoption experiences. She will illustrate these stories through 50 artworks of 317 seeds which represent the 317 children adopted in Australia last year.
Each seed will incorporate an organic coffee seed and will have its own beautiful story, moment or journey.
“I want these seeds to tell these beautiful moments that we can miss or we don’t stop to take with us. They are the moments I want to find because those are the moments that change lives forever” she says.
“My first seed is mine. This is what Anna said to me. To me, you are so precious. You shine like a diamond. To your mother, you are so precious, you shine like a diamond.”
“I want these seeds to have a voice and to tell people that there should be more of these kinds of moments.”
November 8-14 is National Adoption Awareness Week. Visit adoptchange.org.au to help the thousands of Aussie kids who will grow up without a family to love them.
