The seen and unseen

How it works

1. Start with a group discussion of problems experienced by members of the group themselves. Remember, the subject-matter must be a strong one, one that is experienced by as many of the group as possible in some form or other and one which involves oppression in some way.
2. Having discussed a number of subjects the group need to agree which one they are going to address in the session. As in the modelling session, one member of the group sculpts other members of the group into a still image (tableau) showing their experience of this particular form of oppression. When completed, other members of the group can step in and alter parts of the tableau - each alteration needs to be debated and agreed upon. Finally, everyone must agree that the tableau gives as true a representation of how things really are.
3. Next the whole group work towards creating ‘The ideal image’ - an image of how they wish things were. Once again, this ought to be accompanied by discussion and a proper consensus of opinion, until everybody is satisfied.
4. Those who were sculpted into the first tableau - the 'Real image' -then try, through tableaux, to suggest ways of getting from the 'Real image' to the 'Ideal image'. They do this by offering 'Images of transition.' The images of transition can all be debated or altered physically by all other members of the group. The idea is to find real possibilities of how to alter the state of the world that has caused this oppression.
5. A number of possible solutions may be found in this way. They should debate and decide which images of transition are the most likely to succeed and why.