An Illustrated Reader: Illustration, fiction and historical narratives

Abstract

This article will examine the critical potential of illustration practice through an examination of a BA stage project in which illustration was utilized alongside historical research to present both a subjective reading and empathetic critical analysis of a historical piece of fiction. It will look more closely at how both can interact with the idea of the archive to unpick or to challenge existing narratives. I will use my project The Yellow Wallpaper: An Illustrated Reader as a framework for this discussion. It is this practice-based project that sparked this initial line of enquiry and first influenced my thinking about the ways illustration can be a force for critical analysis.