the spark...

Shaun Tan

I was having a bit of a browse around a book market yesterday when I stumbled across an illustrated tome called ‘The Arrival’ by Shaun Tan. The cover was deliberately aged and distressed giving it the feeling of something ancient and rather special. This approach can be very easy to get wrong but was extremely successful in this case.

I spent some time scrolling through (sorry, if you own that book stall) and was amazed at the intricacy and the beauty of the drawings. The images were not accompanied by text but the author managed to tell an involving and moving story nevertheless.

I made a note of the illustrator’s name and looked up some of his other work. I discovered that he has produced some truly exceptional stuff which is going straight on my ‘would love to own’ list. There are a few images below to whet your appetite but you can find out much more at www.shauntan.net.