Swimming Upstream was devised by renowned playwright Alana Valentine, and employed the hands and hearts of a dedicated team of community weavers and narrators.
The space was decorated with thousands of origami fish woven out of ribbon, each of them unique, handcrafted by weavers who met at various times throughout the year. Between four and five thousand fish were suspended from fishing lines, representing the estimated four to five million Australians surviving childhood trauma and neglect. This visually stunning and metaphorically rich setting served as a backdrop for a storytelling presentation where attendees, survivors and supporters alike, took part in narrating the survivors’ stories.
Apart from providing a way to share these highly personal stories in a secure and anonymous way, this had the effect of erasing the boundaries between two groups of people, bringing them closer together.
Although Alana has worked with community groups and tackled sensitive social issues, she found the project unlike any other. “These abuse survivors are a very disparate group. They don’t know each other necessarily. It has also been theatrically interesting for me, as a kind of a new form.”
The project started with an article in SSH inviting survivors to take part. Alana stresses that it was these brave individuals who made the first step. “Some people are reluctant to talk to their friends about it. Perhaps it was liberating for them to talk to someone they’ll probably never see again. They know that I am not trying to analyse or fix them, I am literally just listening to them. It was important to give them a safe environment. Some people never came out with their stories, but took part in weaving the fish. They participated in a way that was comfortable for them.”
The issue of dealing with a childhood trauma is a complex and serious one, but Alana explains how the storytelling was quite unlike a collection of horror stories one might expect. “An experience is as much about the person as it is about what happened to them. It’s not as much about what the abuse was, but what they live with as a legacy.”
She said that some of the survivors doubted their ability to go through the ordeal at first, but found themselves stronger as it went on. “It was actually quite uplifting in the end, the fact that these people could confront it and face it, and are moving on!”
Although unable to attend the play reading, Member for Sydney and Minister for Health Tanya Plibersek deemed the project “truly fantastic and heart warming”. In a written letter of support, Ms Plibersek said: “I’m sure that people will find Alana Valentine’s presentation insightful and powerful and that each person who chose to share their story will demonstrate a tale of strength and courage. By coming together for friendship and mutual support, you are also becoming powerful advocates for overcoming adversity and making a genuine difference in people’s lives.”
