Illustrating Overlooked Stories

Using illustration to document the now, and illuminate the past: Sharing stories from overlooked communities

community illustrated archival photograph zine — Women in Work zine, A5, black and white on recycled paper

I worked with The Indian Community Centre in Foleshill to publish a zine with stories of elderly south Asian women's experience working in Coventry. This was part of the ‘We Are Cov’ showcase at The Tin, Coventry, in December 2024. I made several visits to the community group, live drawing their meetings and speaking to group members.

The goal was to share stories of the women’s work lives, because they felt that people did not take them seriously, and they were treated like they didn't know anything.

I made several visits to their weekly meetings and conducted informal interviews with a handful of women. I was very clear about what I wanted to do with their stories, and they felt comfortable asking me to not include certain stories. The final outcome was a black and white zine, with illustrated stories, free to take home from the festival. The illustrations increased engagement and accessibility, and helped to overcome language barriers that may exist.

You can buy the zine here

Live Illustrations

I was commissioned by ATLA Community to live illustrate the women’s sessions, to document their work. However, I chose to adapt my brief as I noticed an opportunity to use illustration to share their stories. The live drawings from the sessions were blown up and printed in A3, and displayed alongside the group's collage.

live illustration of community group coventry — The group were lively and animated

Jitey (right) lifts up a woman's scarf that was trailing on the floor

Enjoying complementary lunch from the Gurdwara

Why illustration?

Illustration and especially my own style, which is lose and not 'realistic', is a clear indicator that the events depicted are not true in the sense of accuracy, but aim to capture a true feeling.

This is a collaboration between the storyteller and illustrator. People learn through stories, and people learn visually, and I felt this approach would improve the reach of the stories and cement their value. The stories are simple, and my illustrations help the reader to build an imagined world around them, to understand and empathise with the storyteller.

The Zine

Illustrated with fountain pen and half tones, to mimic old newspaper images. I also incorporated archive photographs found during my research stage, of old factories in Coventry. The illustrations are imagined from the stories told by the women. Printed in black and white in A5 format for accessibility.