Art in health and identity: Visual narratives of older Chinese immigrants to New Zealand

Abstract

Aims: This paper explores two older Chinese immigrants' visual narratives on the value and impact of paintings beyond aesthetic merit, and the role art plays in their health, well-being and identity construction. Method: Focusing on two participants' accounts, this paper draws on data collected in a larger project that investigates ageing, housing and well-being through interviewing 32 older Chinese immigrants in New Zealand. Findings: The analysis illustrates that immigration to a new culture in old age often gives rise to experiences of biographical disruption and status-discrepancy, which may invoke isolation, anxiety and a sense of dislocation and loss. Findings reveal that art-making aids the participants in addressing biographical disruption and status-discrepancy and appreciating the richness of multiplicities of the self. Conclusions: Art contributed to positively influencing the well-being of both participants after they moved to a new culture later in their lives.

Keywords:

• art
• health
• identity
• visual narrative
• culture
• older Chinese immigrant