Visual Research Journals
It is common to hear people talk about ‘writing up’ research. Implicit in the phrase is the sense that writing is a stage that occurs principally when the research has finished … However, the process of research involves many forms of writing, from letter writing and minute taking to academic papers and formal research reports.
- Darren Newbury, “Diaries and Fieldnotes in the Research Process”, Research Issues in Art Design and Media, No. 1
To date, the documentation of my walking has taken many forms: physical notebooks that I have made and filled while walking and when researching; blog posts that I have used to document the experience of walking each trail; videos of walking posted online; images shared on social media; larger bodies of photographs stored on hard drives, zines and published books. My research is informed by the work I create, and will always be a combination of practice-led art and research. For me, the research journal is where these aspects of research and practice can share space and influence each other.
Below is a sample of the notebooks and visual research journals that I’ve put together in the past few years:
