Swimming Upstream is an immersive augmented reality experience created by artists and researchers Jenn E Norton, Matt Rogalsky, Laura Murray, and Dorit Naaman.

This augmented reality app was made as a site-specific installation for Next Door, Skeleton Park Arts Festival, June-August 2021, but you can view it from wherever you are!

Artists’ Statement
It may be hard to imagine it now, but in the past, fish were abundant in the Ka’tarohkwi river. In the 1750s, Pierre Pouchot reported that in the spring and early summer the creeks and rivers running into Lake Ontario teemed with spawning fish; “the quantities that go up on some days,” he wrote, “is inconceivable.” The Mississauga people (Mishi-zaagig – people of the large river mouths) depended on their fish relations for a large part of their livelihood. The construction of mills and dams and the destruction of wetlands by settlers, not to mention overfishing and pollution, have drastically reduced the number of fish. They are still here, though. The herons and ospreys know that, and some of you do too! We hope this audio and video piece will immerse you in the fish world of this river.

Viewing Instructions

To see this piece, download the “Swimming Upstream AR” app from the App Store or Google Play. Go down to Douglas Fluhrer Park, and head for the shore at the south end, just north of Metalcraft Marine. Look around until you see the sign of the fish. Open the app on your mobile device and allow your camera to be used. When you aim your mobile device at the sign, you will see animated content.

If you can’t go to the park, you can aim your camera at the image at https://belleparkproject.com/projects/swimmingupstream from wherever you are, and see the content: it won’t be in context of the water and space, but we hope you’ll enjoy it nonetheless!

For more reflection on the fish among us, see our first blog post, by Laura Murray. https://belleparkproject.com/blog-2