Illustrator as detective: Discovery through drawing

I am an illustrator and I have produced an innovative drawing project with the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, that interrogates concepts of illustration and illustrator as visionary.The majority of the museum’s collection consists of small-scale objects and miniatures, showcasing centuries of traditional craftsmanship and artistry. The museum holds a collection of ceramics, jades, bronzes and other artefacts from China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia. It is the only museum in the UK solely dedicated to arts and cultures of East and Southeast Asia.In producing this project, I act as a visionary, through exploring drawing as a tool for looking beyond the obvious, to truly study and discover an exotic object within a museum collection. The project explores ideas of future thinking in educational and professional developments, as the drawings will act as functional and democratic means to communicate my personal response to objects, and in turn challenge personal and studied responses from the public.Future thinking in educational and professional developments is also explored through the showcase of work, as drawings will be displayed in cabinets in direct juxtaposition with corresponding objects, and exhibited between different galleries