Ninth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

In film, illustration and digital art we create worlds, utopian and dystopian. The images created illustrate a narrative whether internal to the artist or external for the writer, reflecting the creator and the viewers’ desire for escapism, to reconcile our wishes for, or fears of the world around us, to warn against possible futures and to safely explore the potential of theories and realities. But what of the semiotics and symbolism of the image itself; what is present and absent, are there geographical and topological features that we recognise, how alien are the landscapes in these images? This paper will analyse a series of fantasy images taken from contemporary film stills, book illustration digital and fine art to provide insight into the construction of alternate reality locations and the rationale behind them. The analysis will include how the image might impact on the psyche of the viewer and the rationale behind the style and presentation of the image; an exploration of the daydreams, film images, the drawings, the writings, the makings of alternate worlds in image.