A Visual and Sensory Participatory Methodology to Explore Social Perceptions: A Case Study of the San Vittore Prison in Milan, Italy

A new range of visual and sensory strategies is emerging as an alternative mode of knowledge in criminology. Drawing on data from a pilot study, which started in 2017 at San Vittore Prison (in Milan, Italy), we discuss the potential, utility and the limitations of a visual and mobile participatory methodology for investigating what is perceived and expected with regard to the presence of prison in today’s urban environment. We do this, first, by considering in detail two techniques for collecting qualitative data: qualitative interviews with mental images (a form of graphic elicitation) and itinerant soliloquies—a mobile methodology. With respect to the latter, we suggest that the use of drawing as a non-representational visual tool, in connection with multisensory aspects of walking, can facilitate the emergence of often-ignored perspectives, perceptions and narratives about prison. Finally, we suggest how such a project could be useful for the emerging connections between visual, aesthetic and narrative criminologies.