Representing Experience: Creative Methods and Emergent Analysis

In an effort to open up broader notions of what an experience might be, we explore creative methods that de-privilege language and cognition and attempt to re-present aesthetic and embodied components of experience. To illustrate such an approach, we detail a five-day canoe journey on the Shoalhaven River (Australia) in which Year 9 students engage with the artistic mediums of sketching, painting and collagraphs. We then describe key elements of perceptual experience and highlight ways in which creative methods can provide surprising possibilities for both research and practice.