The Supplement: Shaun Tan

After looking at Phil's post about Hugo Steiner-Prag I was reminded about a picture book I found during my foundation year by Shaun Tan. I stumbled across his book 'The Arrival' when I was looking into visual narratives. The book itself grabbed me straight away with its sepia tones and as soon as I handled it it felt aged and significant. The illustrations continue this aesthetic and give the whole story an eerie but also incredibly charming atmosphere.

"Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne.

Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Books such as The Rabbits, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar's WALL-E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia; his most recently published book is Tales from Outer Suburbia. "

There's so much more to see in this book but these were some of the nicest and varied images I could find from it. It's a really beautiful book and I hope you enjoy these images from it!