Integrating Image and Text: Where one story ends, another begins

Stories may be read independently through images or text but their power to convey the experiences of others can be much greater when one provides a context for interpreting the other. Photographs and written responses provided by children and young people through their participation in an international project, Voices of Children, attest to the many layers of meaning that can be gained through the intersections of images and text. Playful images that present pictures of an idealised childhood are often at odds with the fear and distress that is conveyed through the written word. On the other hand, the aspirations and ambitions of young people as they write about their hopes for the future stand in contrast to the images that reflect the context in which their lives are lived. Reading across images and text is necessary if we are to gain an understanding of the lives of others.