MA Illustration Authorial Practice

This project began as the straight forward idea of make a book from an imagined, alternative history. It has ended up as a much more ambitious attempt to tell a story, or at least the beginning of a story, in a manner very different to a traditional book. The 'book' is now one of a number of 'things' and all of these things are vehicles for the storytelling.

The box, manufactured in the 1970's, and the inclusion of found objects such as the Box Brownie camera and glasses case help to create the feel of a recently discovered box containing clues to a forgotten life and forgotten story.

The field manual itself has an initial feeling of authenticity. It has a weight and solidity that adds to the realism created by the weathering process. The use of stamped letters and initials on the cover adds to the sense of an owner and a history; a story. This realism does not survive closer inspection; the text is actually too small and it is quickly apparent the manual doesn't actually contain very much information. More detailed amounts of instructions and diagrams would have helped sustain the illusion for longer however, in terms of layout and typography, the manual achieves the desired effect. It uses the fonts found in the real publications of the day and the research into these documents has allowed the creation of something in keeping with them. As a stand alone artefact it doesn't stand up to interrogation but it is, in the end, a vehicle for the drawings and notes of its owner and in this it fulfils its purpose.

Individually some of the drawn elements of the sketchbook would benefit from further development and more of that priceless commodity, time. Whilst designed to appear as hurried sketches, they are nonetheless a little too ‘cartoony’ to achieve the stated aim of creating ‘authenticity’. The preparatory pamphlets and manuals used up a great deal of time and therefore the drawings were completed to deadline but at the cost of greater refinement; specifically, the composition and sequence of the drawings. The drawings themselves, in terms of media and technique, are competent and at least achieve the function of recording events. This is undermined by excessive writing; rather than let the reader fill the gaps with their imagination in the writing fills them all in. Early in the design process one of the stated aims was to not "give the reader too much information; to paraphrase Graham Rawle, the story takes place in the space between the pictures." This aim was forgotten in the final stages and consequently the writing is a little 'over worked.' 

The most successful elements are the actual construction of the manual and sketchbook. The paper choices, binding and weathering technique have created objects that do feel old and have a character of their own. They are very tactile and flicking through the manual or sketchbook is pleasing in itself. This was one of the projects central aims. 

Also successful is the collection of photographs. They are also very tactile, and the weathering process has obscured the images enough to hide that they are drawings and remove any feeling of the cartoon. Several layers of gloss varnish have provided the look and feel of photographic paper. Combined with the final drawing folded into the field manual, this penultimate 'chapter' serves as the revelation of the machines who have been hinted at but in some form obscured until this point.

Finally the inclusion of the self portrait helps to give the whole package a human face. Having witnessed the unfolding story and finally 'meeting' Lum Hogarth, the protagonist, it is intended to leave the reader wanting to know more about the strange machines and in particular about this young man and his story. There is no conclusion. Only the open ended story the young man looking right at us.

20 Dec 18