Keys was the most abstract of the three themes developed by the co-researchers. Rather than referring only to literal keys, it became a way of exploring the many different things that can open up — or close down — possibilities for recovery.

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These might include people and relationships, services and forms of support, environments, knowledge, everyday objects and practices, as well as the particular circumstances of someone's life. Something that opens possibilities at one moment may not do so at another, and the same influence can sometimes enable and constrain recovery in different ways.

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Drawing and stop-frame animation were used to explore these ideas. Through images, objects, movement and making, co-researchers considered what different ‘keys’ might do within their own experiences of recovery.

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The works resist the idea that there is one key to recovery. Instead, they invite us to notice the different relationships and conditions through which possibilities for change can emerge.