ABSTRACT
The role of the participant observer is to interpret the spaces and places they inhabit. In doing so they must acknowledge the partiality or their view as well as be attuned to the rhythms, movements and competing claims that constitute place and space. This chapter contributes to ways of doing visual spatial enquiry through participant observation by drawing on both experiential and representational approaches. This is done through a series of reflections on research in a public square in Fremantle, Western Australia, developing three conceptual tools: positioning, reading and cross-referencing. In the positioning section this chapter reflects on a moment during fieldwork when the researcher realised that even when the participant observer might appear innocuous, they are still active in the place-making process. The reading of the square section explores how iconography and monuments can be representative of a particular social ordering. Finally, the cross-referencing section draws on some previous writing to explore how power flows through place. Building on those important considerations, a set of criteria emerges for participant observation research: being in the space; repetition; throwntogetherness and critical reflexivity.
