***
It’s a good day for Jarod O’Shannessy. When we touch base with the 24-year-old bipolar sufferer he is literally dripping in stoke. As he towels down, Jarod tells us that he has just been testing out a new Aqua Tech water housing for his camera. Over the phone, he excitedly explains that award winning photographer, Ray Collins, was alongside him in the Bellambi brine, offering tips on how to get the most out of his new camera rig. The government’s NDIS scheme helped Jarod and Ray bond over their mutual interest in photography and their love of the twisted wedges of water thrown up by nearby Kiama bommie. For Jarod, taking photos has always been a way of keeping his mind still and finding meaningful purpose. In turn the ocean provides a kind of natural therapy. “The ocean is pretty healing,” he says sincerely.
However, it wasn’t always like this, and he has worked hard to be in a better space, one where he can hone in on his photographic craft. “It’s been six years since I’ve been hospitalised,” he explains, with a noticeable sense of pride and achievement.
Jarod grew up amongst a family of artists in the Sutherland Shire. His father (who also suffers bipolar) is a landscape architect while his sister paints murals, so he knew that creative tendencies ran in the family. From a young age, Jarod dealt with ADHD and autism, but the real battle began when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his teens. He still recalls vividly the first time he was hospitalised. “I had a bad reaction to some medication I was on, which then sent me into mania.” Between the ages of 15 and 19 he was hospitalised half a dozen times, the worst stint saw him spend two months stuck in a ward, watching his adolescence slip away behind closed doors, far away from the beach life he loved.
Luckily, Jarod had already picked up a camera and discovered that pointing the lens at waves and the curious figures who rode them was a kind of antidote for his mood swings. “I started taking photos around the age of 12. And never looked back… It kept me focused on one thing and without my head getting too crazy.”
Jarod concedes that accepting the role medication plays in regulating his moods was an important step. “When I was first in hospital I would spit my medication out but now I swallow the tablets. These days he is responsible for administering his own drugs. “I’ve learnt to accept the fact that I have to take meds to stay well, which I’ve been doing.”However, the medication is only part of the solution for Jarod who insists the opportunities created by the NDIS scheme have been a crucial factor in his recovery. “The NDIS provide me with these amazing support workers… it’s been a huge help.”
As it transpires, one of the care workers who works closely with Jazza, as he likes to be called, is Cronulla surfer, actor and artist, Kirk Jenkins. The two regularly team up together to chase waves and shoot photos. Jazza doesn’t drive but with Kirk as his co-pilot and photographic subject, he has been able to shoot the reefs around Cronulla and travel up and down the coast. As mentioned, the bommie at Kiama is another favourite. “I like the shapes it throws and one of the photos I sent you I was really happy with that. It has really nice blues that come out.”
Between surf sessions Jarod has also been moonlighting as a music photographer, shooting gigs and images of his friend’s band Pacific Avenue. He dreams of going to Teahupo’o and Nias to shoot photos and hopes that one day people might derive happiness from seeing his framed images hung on a wall. “The goal is to open up my gallery one day,” he explains. “That’s what I want to do with my life, take photos, and I want to help people with mental illness and inspire them. Just because they’ve got a mental illness doesn’t mean they can’t do anything that they set their minds to.”Jarod is right. The proof, as they say, is in the picture.
