Ode to Peer Research

When researchers work on topics that personally resonate, it’s called peer research - it blends personal and professional experience in research that is both courageous and compassionate, working with both head and heart. So when McPin reached out about this project, it resonated with us deeply, and was an absolute pleasure to help bring into existence.

The poem, written and narrated by a senior researcher at McPin, is inspired by the many conversations and reflections she’s had over the years. Wanting a freer, more abstract way to explore the more visceral elements of peer research and her experiences of it, she knew poetry and a visual representation was the way to go.

Each scene is painted and constructed by hand, then broken down and combined for the final scene – a “kaleidoscope of lived reality”.  Delicate tissue paper flowers were made by hand, artwork was ripped to reveal new images underneath, ‘cracks’ in gold ink crept across scenes creating cityscapes.