ABSTRACT
TH I S C H A P T E R W I L L introduce a new approach to exploring iden-tities, in which researchers have asked people to make things – such as videos, drawings, collages, or other visual items – as part of a process of reflection upon identity.3 We will consider some of the advantages of this kind of research, and its philosophical underpinnings, before looking more closely at the results of my own recent study in which participants were asked to build metaphorical models of their identities using Lego, the colourful plastic construction toy. This chapter is all new to this edition of the book, and much of it is based on my other new book, Creative Explorations: New Approaches to Identities and Audiences (Gauntlett, 2007), which discusses the background to this approach, and the findings of the various studies, in much more detail.
