Talking with images

Published in Features on 2 Sep 2014

I have boards on Pinterest full of quotes and images that I have collected because I am instinctively drawn to them. They talk to me, the quotes in an obvious way, the images in a not so obvious way, but they still have something to say.

Sometimes I look at the images and quotes when I get stuck. I love the quotes because they are a quick win. They say something I wish I had thought of myself. They point me in a new direction, help me think positively, encourage me to reflect and remind me of a more philosophical slant to the way I generally think. But sometimes I find they tell me how to think or what to do.

I love the images more because they are not a quick win. I need to work with them. They don’t state what they want to say. Instead they suggest, indicate, and intimate, or I decide are irrelevant to the conversation I am looking to have. However what they do is encourage me to listen to what I think they are saying, and find my own voice within this interpretation.

And that is the key draw for me when talking with images. Sometimes I don’t quite know what kind of conversation I need to have, and who to have it with. Or I need to have a conversation with no judgements or answers. Talking with images encourages me to reflect on what I am stuck on, or trying to say. Whilst each image I have chosen may have an instinctive resonance with me, what I find more interesting is considering its undiscovered relevance.

If this chimes with you and you haven’t already done so you might like to create a space to collect quotes and images that speak to you. You could also encourage people you work with to do this and use what people collect to start conversations that have no agenda or purpose other than to explore, reflect and learn together. Ready made spaces include Pinterest, spaces that offer reflections include Rasputin Maxim, or you could make your own spaces using Little moments. Enjoy your conversations.

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