I have been feeling a bit stuck with a couple of things relating to my Kaleidentity project, and I saw there was a 1-to-1 tutorial available with Richard Reynolds who is course leader for MA Applied Imagination (which sounds like my bag), so I decided to book the slot.

I find these 30 minute tutorials with someone who has no idea who you are and never seen your work before a bit odd. The benefit is gaining a fresh, outside perspective on your work, the downside is it can be quite stressful and their advice will be based on a limited understanding - so, to be taken with a pinch of salt.

I started by giving Richard a rapid-fire overview of the project and stating the two sticking points I wanted to discuss:

• What medium/method to use for creating the flags?

• How (and whether) to display text extracts from the interviews alongside the portraits and flags?

Most of the discussion centered around the flags and Richard encouraged me to further interrogate the concept of the flag and why I was attempting to design them for the participants. I explained my background research into flags and some of the conflicts I had encountered when attempting to design them for the participants - and that I was approaching it as an "experimental process" - questioning whether it was even possible to design a flag for an individual or if it would always be too reductive. He suggested that I research non-Western flags such as Buddhist prayer flags and also mentioned the Olympic games, where athletes are obliged to be represented by a country flag but for stateless athletes, they have a flag which he described as "bland" and "unmemorable".

He asked me what I thought of this flag, and I said I agreed with his opinions and that generally flags with text on them don't work. Hence why I am trying to design flags for my participants which only feature colours and symbols. We joked that the two languages on the flag were unlikely to be the native language of those athletes who were represented by it.

We only briefly discussed the interviews, and when I explained the process or transcribing the interviews, paraphrasing quotes and then double-checking everything with the participants before publication - due to them having waived anonymity - he said that I was approaching the research very ethically and he couldn't fault that.

I said that I could publish more lengthier text as an online blog post but that I didn't want to display an essay alongside the portraits as part of the Migration Matters exhibition nor the CSM MA Final Show. I mentioned the idea of writing the most impactful quotes on labels and attaching them to the flags of portraits and he liked that idea. He also suggested using QR codes so that the audience could scan for more information - but if I succeed in raising the funds to print the books it might not be neccessary.

Additional Flag Research

"The Non-Human Unity Flag features three horizontal stripes and a central symbol, each with specific meanings:

1. Green Stripe: Represents therianthropes and those with a more animalistic or earthly experience of identity. This color evokes the natural world and the deep connection therians feel to their animalistic counterparts, embodying the primal and instinctual aspects of their identity.

2. White Stripe: Symbolizes all other nonhuman identities. White is often associated with inclusivity and neutrality, representing the vast and varied spectrum of nonhuman experiences that do not fall under specific categories like therianthropy or otherkin.

3. Purple Stripe: Stands for otherkin and fictionkin. Purple is a color often associated with mystery, magic, and the supernatural, fitting for those who identify with mythological or fictional beings and creatures that transcend ordinary human experience.

The central symbol of the flag is a combination of the septagram (a seven-pointed star) and the theta-delta with a unified circle. This symbol represents unity and diversity within the non-human community, incorporating elements that signify wholeness, interconnectedness, and the unique nature of alterhuman identities.

According to Wikipedia: "The use of triangular corner flags in English football is a regular occurrence based upon traditional achievements. Tradition holds that only clubs that have won the FA Cup have the right to use triangular corner flags rather than the regular square ones. However this tradition has no basis in The Football Association's (FA) regulations and clubs are free to decide what shape of flags they use."