After Words: Negotiating Participant and Portraitist Response in the Study “Aftermath”

Abstract

In this essay, Pei Pei Liu identifies the act of unveiling a completed portrait to solicit participant response as central to the conceptualization of portraiture. While this explicit extension of research relationships into the study “aftermath” distinguishes portraiture from many other qualitative methods, little practical guidance exists for portraitists striving to navigate this process, as published portraits and methodological writings rarely depict the event. To address this gap, Liu shares case studies from her own work that illustrate the inherent tensions stemming from multiple and sometimes conflicting rationales for soliciting participant response in portraiture. She then proposes three methodological commitments that could help portraitists and other qualitative researchers bring greater clarity and intentionality to this complex process.