Future Selves Project
Every patient carries a life, identity, and imagination that extends far beyond the hospital room.
Before or after surgery, young orthopedic patients were invited to use collage to reflect on a simple question: Who do I hope to become?
The Idea Behind It
Future Selves is inspired by the psychological concept of possible selves: the ways people imagine who they might become in the future.
During a period when surgery and recovery can dominate attention, imagining a future self can create space to think about qualities, relationships, experiences, and possibilities beyond the immediate medical moment.
Collage-making and drawing also offer a hands-on form of creative expression that may provide a quiet, absorbing activity during a potentially stressful period of care.
Gallery
*Future Selves was developed with orthopedic patients at Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital in China. Because participants created their collages using locally available magazines, printed materials, and handwritten words, some artworks naturally include Chinese text and culturally specific references.
