Eliciting memories and conversations among the elderly through a photographic archive: an explorative study with the Gibson-Hill Photographic collection

Abstract

This study explores a research process to gather individual memories to support research into a collection of black-and-white photographic archives taken by Dr Carl Alexander Gibson-Hill in Singapore and Malaya during the 1940s to 1960s. Grounded in a qualitative research framework, this study adopts the photo-elicitation method (Harper, 2002) through facilitated group discussions to collect individual interpretations and interactions of participants (Morgan, 1996). Using photographs from the Gibson-Hill Photographic Collection, elderly individuals take part in small group discussions, sharing personal stories and experiences with their peers. The individual memories of those who lived during the period when the photographs were taken provide multifaceted perspectives and enrich our understanding of the history of this region. Furthermore, there exist a programming gap for healthy and active older adults that supports the maintenance of their well-being through cognitively-engaging activities. This research endeavours to bridge this gap through engagement with photographic archives. The study hypothesized that such group workshops can generate data to support research into photographic archives by eliciting personal memories from elderly participants through their conversations and increase social participation among the elderly.

Seventeen participants, aged 65 to 91 years, from Bo Tien Day Activity Centre for the Elderly and Singapore Anglican Community Services (PEACE-Connect), were divided into smaller groups of 5 to 6 and engaged in two 2-hour workshop sessions in March 2024. Data was collected through audio-visual recordings, demographic information, participant reflections and facilitators’ notes. Non-verbatim transcriptions were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019) to reveal four primary themes: 1) Significance of Places, where participants identified and shared details about places depicted in the photographs; 2) Personal Reflection and Nostalgia, which highlighted how the images evoked personal memories, especially of their childhood; 3) Reflections on Changes Over Time, where participants compared past scenes with contemporary settings, reflecting on changes over time; and 4) Contextually Relevant Details, which included miscellaneous information, historical or cultural knowledge shared by participants. The findings revealed that participants were highly engaged throughout the sessions, actively contributing to social interactions. They responded positively to the process of reminiscing, utilising the photographs as prompts to share and discuss their memories. This collective exchange of stories helped to cultivate a strong sense of community within the group and provided valuable insights into the unique experiences of elderly participants, which is able to inform ongoing research on the Gibson-Hill Photographic Collection. This research also highlights the potential of group workshops to stimulate social participation among older adults, contributing to the broader discourse on elderly engagement.

This study is part of and funded by the Creation and Analysis of a Digital Asset with the Gibson-Hill Photographic Collection (MOE-T2EP40120-0006) and is approved by Nanyang Technological University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB-2022-990).