Marrying Realities

This paper reflectively explores my research process of illustrating and animating (for Augmented Reality) three women centered pieces of English folklore. This work was titled Marrying Realities (2020-22) and is one layer within a larger body of research (To Have & To Hold, 2019-24). I worked from the position that the existence of these folk tales can be regarded as intangible cultural heritage, and as such they offer us insights into past social practices and the structural ‘binds’ that women navigated. I acknowledge that these tales were also geographically situated, and are living, dynamic sites of contestation, and as such I will argue offer opportunity for creative and critical reengagement. Consciously employing a feminist lens and utilizing the thinking of Donna Haraway, this project aimed to highlight the complex dynamics in developing and reflexively deciding what I describe as ‘careful’ visual representation, alongside testing the affordances of new Augmented Reality for these texts. My methodology drew on a wide range of archival sources, that wove together institutional, and intellectual narratives alongside a critique of what could/should constitute the personal within my archival work. In terms of creative practice, the work intentionally ‘felt’ its way along and bricolages an array of approaches utilizing; historical sources, image analysis, site visits, speculation and creative material-digital experimentation. Towards conclusion, and building on prior published works, I will conclude the paper by outlining new vistas for illustrators when working within cultural settings; as creative-critical researchers and facilitators of visual strategies such as open-works. Who can when needed, offer conscious resistance to problematic contexts alongside framing new possibilities, useful when encountering contestable norms and helping to contribute to richer public and community engagement approaches.