This scene was developed in Workshop Three of the first fieldwork cycle (see Thesis Chapter 4.2.4) in collaboration with ‘Amy’ (a pseudonym for a care experienced young person), a member of the Edinburgh Champions Board. Collaborating with two actors in an image theatre activity, she created a staircase tableau to express her persona character’s feelings of entering care for the first time. The moment was documented volumetrically and is presented here as a point-cloud sculptural artefact with verbatim audio.

Anchored viewpoints in the 3D model contain Amy’s spoken reflections, ensuring her words and perspectives remain situated within the spatial composition. The staircase artefact can be understood as an agential cut, a specific moment of intra-action, frozen and materialised as data. Conceived as a form of data physicalisation, it sits at the midpoint of a continuum that spans from diagrammatic representations (such as empathy maps) to embodied, affective engagements (such as performance and augmented reality). This role of the sculptural artefacts is explored further in Thesis Chapter 4.3.5. In this way, the digital artefact functions as a living experiment, carrying meaning that was co-constructed through practice and sustaining its role as part of collaborative analysis.

Visitors can move through the scene using the numbered points or arrows in the Sketchfab viewer, where Amy’s verbatim reflections are embedded within the space. This layering of spatial, visual, and spoken elements creates a way of encountering the work that is both analytical and affective, honouring the depth and complexity of her experiences within the speculative scenario.

This scene comes from the final stage of Workshop Three (see Thesis Chapter 4.2.4). Created in response to the staircase tableau that represented a past experience of entering care, this scene shifts into a speculative ethnofiction-inspired exploration of a desired future. Amy collaborated with two actors through image theatre to explore 'how could we' scenarios that reimagined the corporate parent as more attentive and attuned.

In this first tableau, the educational corporate parent (ECP) and persona sit at equal height, angled slightly towards each other. The ECP’s relaxed posture and tilted head suggest curiosity and listening, while Amy's persona leans forward with confident gestures, leading the exchange. The scene envisions a rebalanced relationship where authority gives way to mutual presence and the young person’s voice is centred.

This scene comes from the final stage of Workshop Three (see Thesis Chapter 4.2.4). Created in response to the staircase tableau that represented a past experience of entering care, it continues the speculative, ethnofiction-inspired exploration of a desired future. Amy collaborated with two actors through image theatre to explore “how could we” scenarios that reimagined the corporate parent as more attentive and attuned.

In this tableau, both the educational corporate parent (ECP) and persona are seated on the floor. Their mirrored postures echo the earlier chair-seated scene, but the shift in setting carries added weight. Sitting on the floor dissolves the visual hierarchy that Amy expressed often defines adult–child relationships, challenging the dynamic of being literally and figuratively “looked down upon.” By placing both at the same level, the tableau conveys a sense of mutuality and respect, enacting a more balanced power relation. Here, listening is embodied as a shared presence where understanding can emerge on equal ground.

This prototype model combines 3D imagery from the stair scene with verbatim text and spoken reflections from ‘Roslin’ (a pseudonym for a care experienced young person). Specific viewpoints in the scene are linked with her words, so the artefact carries both the visual trace of the tableau and the texture of her reflections.

The activity formed part of a trauma-sensitive research design in which participants remained involved at each stage of meaning-making. It re-casts Jean Rouch’s screen-back within the qualitative practice of member checking, showing how design research can meet and extend ethical protocols by foregrounding participants’ perspectives as central to interpretation.

Visitors can move through the scene using the numbered points or arrows in the Sketchfab viewer. Each anchor situates Roslin's spoken reflections within the spatial composition, mapping how visual and experiential elements resonate together as part of the unfolding narrative. This role of the sculptural artefacts is explored further in Thesis Chapter 4.3.7 Member Checking Screen-back.

This model originates from the second fieldwork cycle, in collaboration with The Verbatim Formula (see Thesis Chapter 5.2.2). It contains verbatim audio with anchored viewpoints that guide visitors through Alex’s testimony (a pseudonym for a care experienced young person), spoken during a group workshop.

Alex, a young co-researcher, reflected on the instability of care and the difficulty of forming trusting relationships when social workers frequently change. His testimony closed with the powerful statement: “a hug can change a lot.” As his words were performed by Nicky (pseudonym), another participant, the group responded with nods of recognition, signalling how deeply the theme resonated.

Between workshops, I collaborated with two educational 'corporate parents' who enacted Alex’s testimony through image theatre. Their improvised embrace was documented volumetrically, resulting in the sculptural image presented here. Holding the hug for the duration required for the 3D scan created a charged, contemplative space, a moment that blurred performance, reflection, and co-creation.

The artefact embodies Alex’s testimony and its resonances across participants, becoming a shared site of meaning and relational knowing. Anchored with verbatim audio, it invites visitors to move between perspectives, experiencing how listening, performance, and embodied representation converge. In this way, the work extends trauma-sensitive design by carrying emotional nuance without exposing individual identities, offering a glimpse of how care might be imagined differently from the perspective of those living it.

This artefact was created during a third fieldwork activity with a group from Adoption UK. Although not included in the written thesis, it continued the themes explored in the first two fieldwork cycles. This initial session was framed as a generative activity where participants were invited to express what mattered most to them at that moment. These expressions were gathered to establish a series of shared values that would guide the future workshops, acting as compass bearings in line with the Rouch-inspired conceptual model.

From this activity, a participant developed a drawing she titled 'Bridging the gap: listen with curiosity'. This was then explored with the group through image theatre, resulting in a tableau that represented what active listening feels like in the body. The scene was developed with a volumetric camera and is presented here as a sculptural photographic artefact in point cloud form, preserving the spatial fidelity of the moment while protecting confidentiality. The artefact also contains verbatim audio: click the left and right arrows within the artefact to hear the participant’s improvised reflection on the nature of listening, recorded during a collaborative analysis session employing a “5 Whys” design activity.