Memory and place in illustration as a practice

Where do creative images come from? Are they replications of the observed, in reality, memory or via image media? Is there a pure source of synthesis, the internal imaginative vision that creates something genuinely new or is the constructed image always derived and dependent on the experience of a place? This paper considers the constituent sources of imagery and how the affect of each has manifested itself in my own illustration practice. The influence of experiential topographical space and its echo in the imaginary is compared with the construction of places, in particular in the visual language of American cinematography; 1940ÔÇÖs film noir and how its referencing has emerged through unrelated visual media. I aim to use my practice in comparison with that of 2 other illustrators (from North America and Japan) to explore the origination of imagery used in applied contexts. I will look at theories of visual memory (referencing Bruce BrownÔÇÖs work in this area) and attempt to understand the relationship between place and visual imagination in the context of visual communication across societies.