Nature As a “Lifeline”: The Power of Photography When Exploring the Experiences of Older Adults Living With Memory Loss and Memory Concerns

Abstract

The visual is an underutilized modality through which to investigate experiences of memory loss in older people. We describe a visual ethnography with older adults experiencing subjective or objective memory loss, receiving a cognitive well-being group intervention designed to prevent cognitive decline and dementia (APPLE-Tree program). We aimed to explore lived experiences of people with memory concerns, how participants engaged with this photography and codesign project, and how collaboration with an artist/photographer enhanced this process. Nineteen participants shared photographs reflecting what they valued in their daily lives, their experiences of memory concerns, and the intervention. Fourteen participated in qualitative photo-elicitation interviews, and 13 collaborated with a professional artist/photographer to cocreate an exhibition, in individual meetings and workshops, during which a researcher took ethnographic field notes. Eight participants were reinterviewed after the exhibition launch.We contextualize images produced by participants in relation to discourses around the visual and aging and highlight their relationship with themes developed through thematic analysis that interconnects photographic, observational, and interview data. We present themes around the use of photographs to: (1) celebrate connections to nature as a lifeline; (2) anchor lives within the context of relationships with family; and (3) reflect on self and identity, enduring through aging, memory concerns, pandemic, and aging stereotypes. We explore visual research as a powerful tool for eliciting meaningful accounts from older adults experiencing cognitive change and to connect the arts and social sciences within aging studies.