Shaun Tan (born 1973) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated include '' The Red Tree'' and '' The Arrival''. Tan was born in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Western Australia, and grew up in the northern suburbs of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. In 2006, his wordless

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

''The Arrival'' won the Book of the Year prize as part of the

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

. The same book won the

Children's Book Council of Australia The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) is a not for profit organisation which aims to engage the community with literature for young Australians. The CBCA presents the annual Children's Book of the Year Awards to books of literary merit ...

Picture Book of the Year award in 2007. and the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Premier's Prize in 2006. Tan's work has been described as an "Australian vernacular" that is "at once banal and uncanny, familiar and strange, local and universal, reassuring and scary, intimate and remote, guttersnipe and sprezzatura. No rhetoric, no straining for effect. Never other than itself." For his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" Tan won the 2011

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award ( sv, Litteraturpriset till Astrid Lindgrens minne) is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907–2 ...

from the Swedish Arts Council, the biggest prize in children's literature.

Biography

Early life

As a boy, Tan spent time illustrating poems and stories and drawing dinosaurs, robots and spaceships. At school he was known as a talented artist. At the age of eleven, he became a fan of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'' television series as well as books that bore similar themes. Tan cites

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and ...

as a favorite at this time. These stories led to Tan writing his own short stories. Of his effort at writing as a youth, Tan tells, "I have a small pile of rejection letters as testament to this ambition!" At the age of sixteen, Tan's first illustration appeared in the Australian magazine ''

Aurealis ''Aurealis'' is an Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications, and is Australia's longest running small-press science-fiction and fantasy magazine. The magazine is based in Melbourne. History and profile ''Aureali ...

'' in 1990.

Transition to illustration

Tan almost studied to become a geneticist, and enjoyed chemistry, physics, history and English while in high school as well as art and claimed that he did not really know what he wanted to do. During his university studies, Tan decided to move from academic studies to working as an artist.. Tan continued his education at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

where he studied Fine Arts, English Literature and History. While this was of interest to him, there was little practical work involved. In 1995, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.

Work process

Initially, Tan worked in black and white because the final reproductions would be printed that way. Some black and white mediums he used include pens, inks, acrylics, charcoal, scraperboard, photocopies, and linocuts. Tan's current colour works still begin in black and white. He uses a graphite pencil to make sketches on ordinary copy paper. The sketches are then reproduced numerous times with different versions varying with parts added or removed. Sometimes scissors are used for this purpose. The cut and paste

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

idea in these early stages is often extend to the finished production with many of his illustrations using such materials as "glass, metal, cuttings from other books and dead insects". Tan describes himself as a slow worker who revises his work many times along the way. He is interested in loss and alienation, and believes that children in particular react well to issues of natural justice. He feels he is "like a translator" of ideas, and is happy and flattered to see his work adapted and interpreted in film and music (such as by the

Australian Chamber Orchestra The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) was founded by cellist John Painter in 1975.Verghis, Sharon"Bach with more bite pays off" ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 2 September 2005. Richard Tognetti was appointed Lead Violin in 1989 and subsequently appo ...

Influences

Tan draws from a large source of inspiration and cites many influences on his work. His comment on the subject is: "I'm pretty omnivorous when it comes to influences, and I like to admit this openly." Some influences are very direct. '' The Lost Thing'' is a strong example where Tan makes visual references to famous artworks. Many of his influences are a lot more subtle visually, some of the influences are ideological.

Patronage

The Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists is sponsored by the

City of Subiaco The City of Subiaco is a local government area in Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 7 km² in inner western metropolitan Perth and lies about 3 km west of the Perth CBD. The City includes the historically working- ...

and open to all Perth school children between 5 and 17 years. The award is aimed at encouraging creativity in two-dimensional works. It is held annually with award winners announced in May and finalists' works exhibited at the Subiaco Library throughout June.

Awards

;1992: L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest: First Australian to win ;1993:

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

, Artwork, Nominated for ''Relics'' ;1995: Ditmar Award, Professional Artwork, Winner for ''

'' and ''

Eidolon In ancient Greek literature, an eidolon (; grc, εἴδωλον 'image, idol, double, apparition, phantom, ghost'; plural: eidola or eidolons) is a spirit-image of a living or dead person; a shade or phantom look-alike of the human form. Litera ...

'' ;1996: Ditmar Award, Artwork, Winner for

Issue 19 (Cover) ;1997: Ditmar Award, Professional Artwork, Nominated for artwork in

and the cover of ''The Stray Cat'' ;1998: Crichton Award, Winner for ''The Viewer'' :

, Notable Book for ''The Viewer'' : Ditmar Award, Artwork/Artist, Nominated for ''The Viewer'' : Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, Children's Book, Shortlisted for ''The Playground'' ;1999: ''Aurealis'' Conveners' Award for Excellence for ''The Rabbits'' :

, Notable Book for ''The Playground'' : Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year, Winner for ''The Rabbits'' : Ditmar Award, Australian Professional Artwork, Nominated for ''The Rabbits'' : Spectrum Gold Award for Book Illustration for ''The Rabbits'' ;2000: APA Design Award for ''Memorial'' : Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year, Honour Book for ''Memorial'' : Ditmar Award, Artwork, Winner for ''The Coode St Review of Science Fiction'' : Spectrum Gold Award for Book Illustration : Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, Writing for Young Adults award, Shortlisted for ''Lost Thing'' ;2001: Ditmar Award, Artwork, Winner for '' The Lost Thing'' : Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year, Honour Book for ''The Lost Thing'' : Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, Children's Books, Shortlisted for ''Red Tree'' :

World Fantasy Award for Best Artist In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

;2002: Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year, Honour Book for ''The Red Tree'' : New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature Winner for ''Red Tree'' ;2006: Premier's Prize and Children's Books category winner in the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards for '' The Arrival'' ;2007:

, Artwork, Nominated for ''The Arrival'' :

, Picture Book of the Year, Honour Book for ''The Lost Thing'' :

: New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Community Relations Commission Award for ''The Arrival'' : Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year for "The Arrival". ;2008:

Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Comic Book Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins' ...

for ''Là où vont nos pères'', the French edition of ''The Arrival'' :

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

, Nominated for Best Related Book for ''The Arrival'' :

, Nominated for Best Professional Artist (also in 2009 and 2010) : Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Young Adult category winner for ''Tales from Outer Suburbia'' :

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

, Special Citation for ''The Arrival'' ;2009: Ditmar Award, Artwork, Winner for ''Tales from Outer Suburbia'' : Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year, Honour Book for ''The Lost Thing'' :

;2010:

Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature The Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia, announced during Adelaide Writers' Week, as part of the Adelaide Festival. The awards ...

, winner of the Children's Literature Award category and the South Australian Premier's Award for ''Tales from Outer Suburbia'' :

Dromkeen Medal The Dromkeen Medal is a literary prize awarded annually by the Courtney Oldmeadow Children's Literature Foundation for those who have advanced children's literature in Australia. The Medal was established by bookseller, Joyce Oldmeadow in 1982, ...

, Best Professional Artist ;2011:

, Won Best Short Film (Animated) for ''The Lost Thing'' :

"2011: Shaun Tan: A masterly visual storyteller"
. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Retrieved 2012-08-13. : Ditmar Award, Artwork, Winner for ''The Lost Thing'' : Ditmar Award, Artwork, Nominated for ''Australis Imaginarium'' :

, Best Professional Artist : Peter Pan Prize for the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

translation of ''The Arrival'' ;2014:

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

, Artist :

, Artwork, Winner for ''Rules of Summer'' : Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Picture Book Honor for ''Rules of Summer'' ;2019:

, Finalist:Children's Book Council of Australia, Picture Book of the Year, Winner for Cicada 2020 :

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

, Winner for ''Tales from the Inner City''

Adaptations

*''The Red Tree'', a play based on Tan's book of the same name, was commissioned by the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. *''The Red Tree'', a music performance created by new composer Michael Yezerski with

Richard Tognetti Richard Leo Tognetti AO (born 4 August 1965) is a leading Australian musician recognised internationally as a violin soloist, ensemble player, leader, composer and arranger, conductor and artistic director. He is currently artistic dire ...

; performed by the

with the youth choir Gondwana Voices, and accompanied by images from the book.Australian Chamber Orchestra ''The Red Tree''
Accessed: 2008-05-29 * ''The Arrival''. Images from this book were projected during a performance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra of conductor Richard Tognetti's arrangement of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 15 * ''The Lost Thing'' has been adapted as an Oscar-winning animated short film. * ''The Lost Thing'' inspired an album by Sydney band Lo-Tel, complete with artwork from the book. * ''The Lost Thing'' has also been adapted as a play by the Jigsaw Theatre Company, a youth theatre company in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. This was the main event for the National Gallery of Australia's Children Festival (

) and at the Chookahs! Kids Festival (

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

) in 2006. * ''The Lost Thing'' was the theme for the 2006 Chookahs! Kids Festival at The Arts Centre in

, with many different activities based on concepts from the book. * ''The Arrival'' was adapted for the stage by Red Leap Theatre. *''The Arrival'' was again projected on a screen to an orchestral score, performed by Orkestra of the Underground with 18 pieces created by musician and composer Ben Walsh. This was performed in the Opera House in Sydney, The Melbourne Recital Centre and Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide. *''The Rabbits'' was the basis for an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

of the same title by

Kate Miller-Heidke Kate Melina Miller-Heidke (; born 16 November 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in th ...

which was premiered at the 2015

Perth International Arts Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

Works

Books

As illustrator

* ''The Pipe'', by James Moloney (1996) * ''The Stray Cat'', by Steven Paulsen (1996) * ''The Doll'', by Janine Burke (1997) * ''The Half Dead'', by

Garry Disher Garry Disher (born 15 August 1949, in Corporate Town of Burra, South Australia) is an Australian author of crime fiction and children's literature. Awards *The Canberra Times National Short Story Competition, 1986: winner for "Amateur Hour" ...

(1997) * ''The Viewer'', written by

Gary Crew Gary David Crew (born 23 September 1947) is an Australian writer of young adult fiction. Awards Crew has won the Australian Children's Book of the Year on four occasions. Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers * 1991 '' Strange ...

(1997) * ''The Rabbits'', written by John Marsden (1998) * ''The Hicksville Horror'', by Nette Hilton (1999) * ''The Puppet'', by Ian Bone (1999) * ''Memorial'', written by

(1999) * ''Pretty Monsters'' by Kelly Link (2008)

As author and illustrator

* ''

The Playground The Playground Theater is the only continuously operating non-profit theater in Chicago dedicated to Modern Theatrical Improvisation, a form of theater invented in the city. The Playground was founded in 1997 by its original member compani ...

'' (1997) * '' The Lost Thing'' (2000) * '' The Red Tree'' (2001) * '' The Arrival'' (2006) * '' Tales from Outer Suburbia'' (2008) * ''The Bird King and other sketches'' (2011) * ''The Oopsatoreum: inventions of Henry A. Mintox'', with the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often de ...

(2012) * ''Rules of Summer'' (2013) * ''The Singing Bones'' (2016) * ''Cicada'' (2018) * ''Tales from the Inner City'' (2018) *''Dog'' (2020) *''Eric'' (2020) *''Creature'' (2022)

Installations

*Mural in the Children's Section of the Subiaco Public Library (Perth, Western Australia).

References

Bibliography

"About Shaun Tan" ''Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness Program''
Retrieved 27 December 2005
"About Our Authors and Illustrators". ''Lothian Books''
Retrieved 27 December 2005

Retrieved 27 December 2005
"Media Statement (2005)", ''Western Australia Department of Education and Training''
Retrieved 27 December 2005
"The Red Tree", ''Queensland Performing Arts Centre''
Retrieved 27 December 2005

Retrieved 27 December 2005

Retrieved 27 December 2005

Retrieved 27 December 2005
"Tan, Shaun", ''AustLit''
Retrieved 27 December 2005

Retrieved 27 December 2005

Retrieved 27 December 2005

External links

* * *
Shaun Tan collection at Beinart GalleryInFrame.tv interview with Shaun Tan on the animated adaptation of his book The Lost ThingThe Lost Thing: Online interactive versionInterview with Shaun Tan on Australian EdgeWebquest on "Representations of Belonging" – using the picture books of Shaun Tan by Julie BainWebquest on "Viewing the Viewer" – postmodern picture books for teaching and learning in secondary English education by Julie BainShaun Tan's Gallery
with biography and artbooks on Inside Your ART {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Shaun Australian children's writers Australian male novelists Australian speculative fiction artists Australian children's book illustrators World Fantasy Award-winning artists Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winners Australian people of Chinese descent University of Western Australia alumni People from Fremantle Artists from Perth, Western Australia Artists from Melbourne 1973 births Living people Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners