AYDEN Shepherd was a child when he met Jolene on a handful of occasions, but has been unable and unwilling to forget her ever since.
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Jolene died aged 28 in 2015 after an abusive childhood that included 55 changes in foster care placements, 100 hospital admissions and years of alleged physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
“Jolene’s powerful story needed to be told,” said Ayden, 18. “It’s a journey of innocence, vulnerability, braveness, resilience and strength, of trying to survive her circumstances.”
The former Hunter Valley Grammar student used Jolene’s life as inspiration for a six part photographic series Why I Rise, which he submitted as his Visual Arts major work last year and which has since been selected for the ARTEXPRESS exhibition.
“The title of the work was inspired by one of Jolene’s poems,” he said. “I wanted to tell the true story of what she experienced, of her growing from an innocent child to someone who felt emotionally disconnected.”
Ayden heard about Jolene’s story through his mother, accredited children’s law specialist Neisha Shepherd, who filed a statement of claim in the NSW Supreme Court in August 2012 on behalf of Jolene alleging the state was negligent in its duty of care. Jolene died before any hearings.
“Jolene’s story represents what’s happening in the system and the injustice of people falling through the cracks,” he said. “It shows this is happening in our world – and how it can happen right beside you and you would not know.”
Ayden told his mother he was working on a piece about Indigenous culture, but revealed the truth about the project two days before he photographed the series in June.
“When I saw it I was silent – and that doesn’t happen very often,” Ms Shepherd said. “My whole soul crumbled it was so beautiful. She’d be proud to have her story shared in a way that showed she mattered. She wanted to inspire other people to stand up to adversity, believe in themselves and realise their potential.”
But Ayden was also in for a surprise. When he explained to his cousin Jasmine Bard the concept of the series in which he had asked her to model, she revealed she had also based her major work for Dance on Jolene’s story. It has been selected for the showcase of exemplary performances, Callback.
The former Hunter School of the Performing Arts student’s 4.5 minute performance is set to a reading of one of Jolene’s poems and instrumental music. “I wanted to communicate the feelings Jolene experienced through movement,” she said. “I wanted the audience to feel a deep connection to Jolene, for her story to emotionally impact them as well.”
Lifeline: 13 11 44 lifeline.org.au Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 suicidecallbackservice.org.au