Rose Gilroy and Dr Peter Kellett
Senior Lecturers, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, University of Newcastle
R.C.Gilroy@ncl.ac.uk / P.W.Kellett@ncl.ac.uk

Picture me: place, memory and identity in the lives and homes of older people

This paper explores the importance to older people of making displays of domestic possessions and the ways in which they are used to communicate identity. On one level this display is a mirror for the self, a means of keeping the past alive and current. However furnishings and mementos not only embody the past, but play a major role in communication of identity and status to visitors and family through the passing on of ideas and values to the next generation. Previous work by the authors revealed that the area surrounding the place where the older person spends much of their time is usually filled with pictures and objects of significance arranged to ‘frame’ the way a visitor will view them. Such compositions also reveal how they see their own world which for many in old age, is spatially confined but rich in memory and meaning. These images and objects are the focus for this new work which uses photo elicitation, graphic and photographic techniques to explore what is displayed (content); where it is displayed – how important is being within reach and why; and how the object is used. Data is derived from a small sample of older people, some living in their own homes and others in residential homes. The work is seen as a collaborative project between two groups of image makers: the researchers, and the older people who have created an image of themselves.