The Real and the Imaginary

Of course I had heard of the illustrator/artist/writer Shaun Tan, but I'd never read any of his books as they are 'children's books.' How surprised and captivated I was, on the weekend when I saw 'Shaun Tan - the real and the imaginary' an exhibition currently showing at the Bendigo Art Gallery. Tan has written/illustrated fourteen books, illustrated for numerous other authors, and has also made a short animation 'The Lost Thing' which earned him an Acadamy Award in 2010. The exhibition was a collection of sketches, drawings, paintings and models - some of which were studies and others were the original artwork that are in his books. There were also drawings that Tan had sketched as a child, and as his father was an Architect, these drawings were on yellow trace or on the back of Architectural invoices. There were several large and small scale paintings which Tan had painted - I throughly enjoyed looking at these paintings of everyday suburban settings, such as footpaths, houses and backyards. The style of these paintings were totally different from his book illustrations, the paintings were loose and gestural, whereas his book artwork is precise and detailed. Despite the contrasting styles, I felt a strong sense that Tan draws visual inspiration for his imaginary worlds in the books from our everyday world.

This blurring between the real and fantasy is what makes Tan's work so engaging. Some would argue that his book artwork is purely fantasy - but I disagree, as the works are set in landscapes that are of Australian suburbia and the city streets. As Karen Quinlan, the Director of the gallery, wrote in the program 'His unique ability to make the familiar appear strange reflects the world back to us in a profound and surprising way.' 

In conjunction with Tan's beautiful paintings and illustrations, the storyline in each of Tan's books are moving as well. In particular 'The Red Tree' is a book that explores the feeling of loneliness and depression. I left the exhibition feeling very inspired.

The exhibition is now showing until 1st September 2013.

Image courtesy of www.bendigoartgallery.com.au

www.shauntan.net