“This is a picture of my dad and I. There’s quite a few photos of dad up on the walls. I have recent pictures of him from the last year he was alive which is really nice. It’s been three years since he passed away, time goes so fast. I talk to him a lot, especially when I’m processing emotions about him, or when I’m wanting to know what he thinks about something that I can’t ask him. He’s still a really important person in my life. Having these photos of him around helps me to remember what his face looks like and keeps his memory alive.

People don’t mention him much because they don’t want to make me sad, but I actually really like these opportunities to talk about him. So many big things happened after he died; my life is really different. I have different friends, different beliefs and ideas that he’s not around to know about. His physical body is gone, but he’s everywhere. He’s in the wind, in the stones, in the trees and in my friends. He’s always there. There was good that came out of him passing, my sisters and I really bonded after his death. They’re a lot older than me and we didn’t have much of a relationship growing up. We became very close. The experience made me a lot more present, grateful and aware that things end.”

What does sentimentality mean to you?
“I don’t really have a lot of sentimental objects. I really feel like most things can be replaced. I’m not too sentimental about objects because I always lose them. I’m sentimental about places, feelings, people and memories. When it comes to physical objects, not so much. When I go to a place that has lots of memories for me, that feels sentimental.” - Meg , Ōtaki, Kāpiti Coast (Interview: Chloe Mason) Find Meg: @blacksheepanimalsanctuary