Deck of Dreams
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Dreams
Real Stories
Unique Art
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Why is mental health important?
Discrimination around mental illness* is prevalent. Fundamentally, we are all the same, we are all human. We all have dreams and a desire to connect.
The Deck of Dreams aims to inspire dream creation. Imagine a world where the focus is not a person’s illness or mental health history, but a person’s dreams and purpose.
1 in 5 Australians experience mental illness in their lifetime. Suicide is the main cause of premature death among people with a mental illness. More than 10% of people with a mental illness die by suicide within the first 10 years of diagnosis (SANE, 2008). The Deck of Dreams hopes to serve as a visual reminder of the beauty and strength in having dreams.
*I struggle with the label “mental illness”, it doesn’t sit well with me when describing these experiences.
10,400 steps up a mountain in Sri Lanka
It was 2 am and it had just started to rain lightly. I rolled out of bed and got ready for my journey. I was going to climb 10,400 steps, but who’s counting?
This was not my typical morning routine. I was in Sri Lanka, an island country situated in the Indian Ocean on India’s Southern coast, and I was about to conquer (sounds grander than saying climb) Adam’s Peak.
The small lights that trailed up the mountain seemed so far away. That’s because it is far, that little voice in my head muttered. It didn’t matter, I knew that before the sun rose I’d be at the peak gazing down at the majesty below.
What about you, what’s on your life list?
This journey was the seed that allowed the Deck of Dreams to grow from a conversation between climbing companions to a real-life project. It was after the epic climb on the way down that I comprehended the task I’d just achieved.
In my post-conquer exhaustion, I said casually, if only I’d known about this earlier I would have put it on my life list (much more affirming than the popular bucket list) so I could gleefully cross it off. It was then I asked my climbing companion the question that started my inspired brain brewing. “What about you, what’s on your life list?”
He replied that walking amongst the silverback gorillas in the rainforest was something he’d always remember. At that moment I knew I wanted to visually capture dreams, not just mine, but everyone’s.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a set of images that represented all your dreams, no matter what size? You could share them with people, and then be inspired to add to or grow your dreams?
It didn’t matter what was said next, I already knew I would make it happen, I just wasn’t sure how.
What resulted is a tangible artistic representation of the dreams of 52 people. I truly hope that the images and words in this collection do inspire you to achieve your dreams.
FAQ
You can get your hot little hands on them from the jenaboki.com.au shop
For $25 it can be yours to own forever (plus postage and handling – unless you are ordering a lot, then we can arrange something special just for you, let me know)
Firstly, thank you for the thought. Best way is to tell your friends and everyone about it, we are on Facebook and Instagram Another way is to join in by sending in your dream.
The answer is a big YES! Drop me an email and we can talk
All you need to know is here
Deck of Dreams Media Features
Acknowledgements
The Wayside Chapel has been a supporter of the project since 2011. Thanks also goes to Douglas Holmes for his input into the project and to Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre and PlanBig for hosting workshops.
During development, Deck of Dreams was part the Day to Day Living program. Day to Day Living provided people living with a long-term mental health issue with a safe and supportive environment to access educational, social and recreational group-based activities.
During it’s time at The Wayside Chapel workshops were run at various services around the Sydney Inner City area, including Buckingham House (Flourish Australia) and B Miles Women’s Foundation. Workshops have also been run outside this area at Kirribilli and Parramatta.
The Deck of Dreams was produced in partnership with Day to Day Living in the Community funded by the Department of Health with support from The Wayside Chapel. The Deck of Dreams formed part of the City of Sydney Narrative Project funded by Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP Salary Trust.
A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality