Objects that distil the experience of home using the sense of touch: a collaborative approach with people living with memory impairment

Abstract

This practice-based research examines the haptic encounter between our hands and the objects of our homes, the relationship between the procedural memory of those encounters and sense of self, and the value that understanding how to translate this relationship into three-dimensional form might have for the quality of life of people living with disability, especially those acquired because of a dementia.

This project developed from a desire to contribute to the quality of life of people living with more advanced symptoms of a dementia. I applied my practice as a silversmith and maker in small metals to discover knowledge with potential to contribute beyond the discipline of craft. The aim of this research is to bring together knowledge from a range of fields and identify a design approach that could be developed to make commonly encountered surfaces in institutional care settings more meaningful to the sense of touch. This thesis describes the three elements of the research: a literature review, field work in aged care settings, and practice-based research in a small metals workshop.

Using participatory design techniques to create a middle ground, I collaborated over a period of two years with people living with memory impairment to explore story, materials, scale, and learn about our hands. The collaboration revealed the importance of our hands and the sense of touch, and the nature of our shared experience. Following this fieldwork I began a process of object-making to apply the knowledge generated during the collaboration and literature review. I drew on my subjective experience of haptic encounters during domestic routines to investigate the forms and designs that trigger procedural memory of these routines, and the emotions associated with home, agency, and a secure sense of self. The outcome of this investigation includes: a thesis that contains an account of the fieldwork and the craft process employed in the workshop; a set of design guidelines; and a group of trace objects. Show more