Introduction to ‘Transitus: Illustration as Material Crossing Ground’: The stake in the physical trace

Abstract

Taking its inspiration from the ‘Transitus’ theme of the 12th Annual Illustration Research Symposium, hosted online 14–15 July 2022 by Falmouth University, United Kingdom, this editorial considers material expressions of what might be understood as the performative prefix ‘trans-’. Each of the essays introduced here responds to an understanding of the crossing ground we are naming ‘Transitus’ as one which is invested in retaining a physical connection or trace in its referential, illustrative function. Not coincidentally, many of the articles included here identify this physical trace as one which partakes in the materiality of photography or celluloid, prompting a larger consideration of relationships between photography, film and illustrative practices. This identified relationship signals a desire to hold on to a material trace of the ‘real’ in order to ground a given narrative. Other examples of material anchoring to those of photography and film are also considered here as part of a broader theorization of illustration practices that hold on to the physical object or artefact in order to achieve their respective communicative acts of crossing over.