Sketching and ethical observation on the margins of the city

This paper explores the potential of sketching as a vehicle for ethical observation, or an ethical quality of attention, through research involving marginalised individuals. Sketching is a form of drawing, distinguished by immediacy and speed. As such, it has scope for observation of people and places, which navigates the ethical risks and opportunities of research by looking with a light touch. This means paying attention (not blanking or unseeing people) without looking too hard or for too long (staring or scrutinising others). Observational sketching can be distinguished from some forms of drawing, which involve more sustained, concentrated observation. This paper explores the ethical challenges of visual research where looking is particularly fraught – research involving homeless people at a major transport hub: Termini Station in Rome. It is very difficult, not only for researchers but also for others who move around the city, to know where to look when they encounter homeless people. These encounters bring risks, for example of staring at or conversely blanking homeless people. We propose a way of seeing, practiced through sketching, which steers between these problematic poles. Through a series of sketches, we explore different ways of using sketching as a vehicle for ethical observation. We argue that sketching can be ethical, helping to guide the observations of the researcher, cultivating their ability to notice, while collecting data about the experiences of marginalised urban lives. But the ethics of sketching are not simply a fait accompli. Rather, sketching challenges us to ongoing ethical reflection and responsibility, while leaving space for judgement and uncertainty about whether we have got it right.