Ninth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss the practical, theoretical, and ethical questions of using the participatory visual method of photovoice with older people living in residential aged care. Twenty residents of a facility in Brisbane, Australia were given cameras and asked to visually capture highlights, lowlights, two weeks and a day in their life; these photographs were collaboratively shortlisted, forming a large public exhibition in 2017 entitled ‘Living in Aged Care: A photographic exhibition of laughter, loss and leisure’. The exhibition provided rare and intimate insight into the often-private world of residential aged care, with this paper reflecting on the process, learnings and implications. Drawing on a diverse range of project data (participants’ photographs, in-depth interviews, researchers’ field notes, exhibition evaluations), this paper documents the core exhibition image and narratives, with the participant-created visual images a powerful tool for public engagement that challenged many existing stereotypes about life in aged care. In a society where, all too often “the voices of professionals become louder and older people’s voices become softer” (Powell, 2013, p.29), a key project strength was how participatory photography empowered and gave a voice to older age care residents. The camera, integral to the photovoice method, altered the researcher/participant ethical dynamics by becoming a continual ‘connector’ to the researcher. It also took on a distinct agency, acting as a non-threatening ‘portal’ that lengthened contact, and enabled unplanned participant revelation. This paper reflects on the potential of ‘images’ for engaging with, reaching and starting a dialogue with diverse audiences.