Collective reflections on body mapping: Ethico-methodological factors for consideration

Body mapping is a qualitative arts-based research method that can be used to explore a wide range of topics, including health, trauma, and social justice. It involves creating a visual representation of the body, often a life-sized drawing or painting, and using it as a platform to tell stories and convey meaning. In this paper, we offer our collective reflections on body mapping, borne out of our experiences with the method in six different research projects in which we aimed to engage with research questions related to embodied experiences. We first provide a brief overview of body mapping as method, and then describe our approach to collective dialogue and reflection. Subsequently, drawing on our unfolding experiences, we provide some reflections and practical advice regarding the many ethico-methodological considerations that arose in our implementation of this method pre/during/post our body mapping workshops. Lastly, we present five key factors including fallible accountability, flexibility, reciprocity, relationality, and balance for future would-be body mappers to think with when embarking upon this arts-based approach.