Toy Circle Film [International Association of Illustration Academics Exhibition]

Peer reviewed inclusion as part of the International Association of Illustration Academics practice-based and practice-led research exhibition. Included as part of the Seeking Vision: The Sixteenth International Conference on Design Principles and Practices: 19th-21st January, 2022, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.The illustrative film is a practical experiment developed in response to ongoing theoretical research. It investigates how a wordless visual narrative can be structured within an open story format. By exploring variations in timing, panel relationships, and spatial composition, the work examines how an abstract, multi‑linear narrative can be communicated without words.The film also shows how this experiment was brought back into the physical space that originally inspired the story. The research explores how layers of pictorial narrative information can be placed within a real-world environment, creating a story-container that viewers navigate and interpret for themselves. This practical experiment establishes a foundation for how unconventional wordless visual narratives might function as a shared, spatial reading experience.Johnson, R. (2022) Toy circle [Exhibit]. IAIA: International Association of Illustration Academics. Seeking vision: 16th design principles and practices conference. The University of Newcastle, Australia. Available at: https://www.illustrationacademics.com/2022 (Accessed: January 2026).---Exhibition contributors: Gary Embury, Tim Vyner, Richard Johnsan, Gill Sampson, Robyn Phillips-Pendelton, Robert Brinkerhoff, Iliana Oakes, Melanie Reim, Andrew Selby, Alan Male, Ellen Weinstein, Louis Netter, Jo Berry, Andrew Howells, Bernadette Drabsch, Luke O'Donnell, Ari Chand, Mario Minichiello, Andy R. Davies, Jo Mignone, Stuart Medley, Mary E Begin, Linda Knight, Jack McGrath.‘Seeking vision is a group exhibition of non-traditional research outcomes that seeks to explore and investigate the role of Illustration in the contemporary landscape of practice-based, practice-led and speculative research. Bringing together a global network of scholars - diverse views and work are exhibited in a virtual and immersive gallery for viewing. This exhibition enables virtual galleries and spaces in which digital collaboration, the ability to embed rating interaction and viewing feedback alongside collecting empirical data about visitor engagement. This speaks to the future potential for peer-review of non-traditional works that embody creative practitioners approaches to both individual research, and research with collaborative partners' (Chand and Howells, 2022).Chand, A. and Howells, H. (eds) (2022). Seeking vision: the sixteenth international conference on design principles and practices [Online Exhibition]. Available at: https://www.illustrationacademics.com/2022 (Accessed: January 2026).© Richard Johnson