The Archive as an Illustrated Space for Disputed, ‘Dubious’ and Hidden Narratives: Employing an Original Concept of the Illustrative Turn in order to Re-establish Identities for Fairground Females within the Established Historical Record

This research asserts that an archive is a powerful narrative space whose structure can be manipulated to unveil and illustrate ‘dubious’ and hidden stories. This hypothesis is tested through an enquiry that physically builds an archive as illustrated space which (re-) establishes the identities of five fairground females through the utilisation of traditional signwriting and illustrative storytelling. Embedded within fairground heritage, both the research and practice elements of the enquiry are informed by an insider’s appreciation of its rich history.

The research develops a relationship between the practices and theories of illustration and the archive: something under-developed when compared to the long-standing relationship between fine art and the archive. The framework of an archive as illustrated space is constructed by dissecting theories from varying standpoints. The research introduces the concept of the illustrative turn which borrows from the structure of a magic trick – involving the direction, subsequent misdirection, then reveal to the reader. The intention is for the framework to serve as a tool for illustrative practitioners to apply to their own archival research, and consequently the framework contributes to the critical discourse of illustration.

The National Fairground and Circus Archive (NFCA) is utilised to establish how the existing representations of the five females are not fully recorded, despite their pivotal roles within their respective communities. Applying this research within the theoretical framework demonstrates how illustration contributes to the expansion of the historical record – and broadens audience engagement with the material: narrative fragments of the fairground females are conveyed to re-establish their identities in illustrated spaces, and consequently in the NFCA context.