Lullabies in Lockdown illustration exhibition

Duggleby, Beth ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4310-1226 (2024) Lullabies in Lockdown illustration exhibition. Journal of Illustration, 12 (1). pp. 35-57. (In Press)

Abstract

From 2020 onwards, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and significantly altered our familiar way of life. For those experiencing parenthood for the first time, they found themselves adjusting to two new realities. This article asks the question, ‘What can illustrated stories within the gallery offer to uncover, support and unite those with shared but unspoken lived experience?’ More broadly, it looks, via a group exhibition case study, at the opportunities of the gallery space for purposing illustration and its unique qualities, as a gentle invite to engage audiences with hidden and emotionally charged subject matter which benefits from being shared. The Lullabies in Lockdown project began as a month-long group illustration exhibition in Leeds, UK, in October 2022. It featured work by various illustrators addressing new parenthood during the pandemic. This article looks at different illustrative approaches to tell a holistic story of the time, providing an overview of the exhibition and the development of ‘Lullabies’ into a pop-up touring show. Through artist statements and audience feedback, it considers how collectivized illustration validates and processes lived experiences, revealing how public exhibitions can reassure individuals facing hardships alone by acknowledging shared struggles. This discussion emphasizes the illustrators’ role as witnesses and the gallery as a medium and highlights their combined potential to create tonally sensitive aesthetics that invite audiences to engage with challenging experiences. It argues for further research into the overlooked values of illustration, especially amidst cultural polarization and artificial intelligence concerns, as a means of humanizing communication. This article was first presented for conference at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri as part of the ‘Blind Spots’ 2023 Illustration Research Symposium.

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