A trial of women

The following article is an articulation of practice-based research that seeks to situate the process of ‘illustrative thinking’ (Vormittag 2014) as an inventive social research methodology. The study, an enquiry into a medieval witch trial, asserts the embodied sensory experiences of the illustration researcher as a form of non-representational ethnography (Thrift 2007). Illustration here manifests as ficto-critical (Muecke 2002) image, and writing employs narrative description to offer an interpretation of what remains of a historical happening within everyday collective consciousness (Wright 1985). Notes have been utilized creatively to interweave intersubjective narratives, and accompanying illustrations offer a visual recording of experience. Produced post-encounter, the imagery is informed by primary and secondary research but is also evocative of personal memory and autobiography. This article endeavours to embody a holistic creative outcome, manifesting at once as a creative practice, a critical discourse and a compelling story.