Andrew Kingham • THE FUTURE OF ILLUSTRATION

How do we develop new processes of image-making?

Illustration is at the centre of many overlapping structures and processes, functioning as advert, advocate and interpreter, while formally and visually existing in the space between past visual heritage and future technological image-making opportunities.

As technology has enabled the creation and sharing of image production, the desire for the novel or unique idea has increased, while the roles of the professional working as a designer and illustrator has become easier to bridge. This has lead to a growth in images that exist as a statement, expression, or as an artefact, rather than as servant to a text or another’s idea.

Illustrators as Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘cultural intermediaries’ who naturally interpret and reflect the aspirations of society are well placed to take this development forward.

The desire for the new approach is felt by both the audience and the artist. While much work created in the service of communicating messages is still clearly intended to persuade, Michael Beirut suggests that ‘the instability of the design process and its outcomes is what makes it fun’.

New forms of visual communication can be developed by playful exploration of form, material, or a manifested approach or idea.

These images from an ongoing series of small portraits show a snapshot of the progress of an idea being evaluated while responding to stylistic and external reflection. They begin with an investigation into facial recognition systems being adopted globally, alongside an attempt to move away from functional drawing - starting from the oft-repeated, almost clichéd advice to ‘draw what you can see’, rather than imposing the known or the archetype.

This research is not about creating a set of rules that decide how to draw, or the colours in our palette – rather it is an investigation into actively looking, creating a path that utilises arbitrary obstacles, chance and sequential decisions to inform and refresh visual image-making.

Andrew Kingham is a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has an MA in Sequential Design, and has worked as an Illustrator, Graphic Designer and Interactive Designer since graduating from Brighton Polytechnic.