A Visual Interpretation of Brave New World

A Visual Interpretation of Brave New World

By Adam Byrne

Foreword Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a science fiction novel set in the future, it was written in 1931 and published in 1932. At first the society within the book presents itself as a Utopia, but as the reader reads on we discover that the society is in fact a Dystopia. Although, the conclusion as to whether it really is a Utopia or Dystopia is debateable and entirely up to the reader. Personally, from reading the book I believe it to be a dystopian vision of the future, breeding humans to do nothing but work is exploitative and inhumane. I firmly believe that a life is a life and should be lived to its fullest no matter what.

I picked ‘Brave New World’ up this Summer and had no real reason to read it, but then I saw a competition on the House of Illustration website that required illustrations to be produced for the book as well as a binding design. Brave New World is a book that I’d been recommended to read and that I’d walked past countless of times in the library, I intended to pick it up and read it but I didn’t have an excuse to do so. Reading something for a purpose, for instance this competition is something new to me and I really enjoyed it.

Visuals presented themselves to me as I read the book, by selecting and highlighting three scenes from within the book images will be made that both form an understanding of the book and a narrative. The scale of the work will vary, but ultimately it will fit the specified requirements as stated in the commission brief.

By looking at artists such as Clara Mata, David Wallace, John Stezaker and Rodchenko work will take the shape of collage and photomontage. Intentionally monochrome but with hints and colour visuals will be developed and added to.

I find that throughout all of the work I have produced in my three years studying BA Hons. Fine Art for Design there remains narrative and the written word as a remaining constant. Books are a love of mine and I find that illustrating them is perhaps the next step forward.