Intangible to tangible: Illustration practice as a tool for safeguarding a disappearing culture of lived experience

Abstract

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is problematic as it is ‘intangible and not yet fixed in any medium’ (Ivey), however, it opens new possibilities for illustrators to shape and form its intangibility. This article explores the role of illustration in preserving disappearing culture, with reference to my recent project, Tamnarok: The Record of Tamna. This project aims to investigate illustration as both a research method and an artistic mode of disseminating knowledge of endangered cultural heritage, specifically with case studies around female free divers Jeju haenyeo and the distinctive language Jejueo in South Korea. Positioning illustration as a participatory and creative practice for communicating, understanding, facilitating and disseminating lived experience, this article proposes that illustration is an effective way of processing and manifesting ICH.