‘This is what I learned last summer:’, begins Shaun Tan’s latest award winning picture book Rules of Summer. Be amazed by enigmatic oil paintings from the book on display now at State Library of Western Australia.
Shaun Tan, Never drop your jar, 2013, Oil on canvas
In a dramatic series of paintings Tan maps the activities of two boys through their memories of last summer. Themes of friendship rivalry and imagination are explored in a series of pictorial contrasts between urban and natural, real and extraordinary, excitement and foreboding, familiar and strange, in both frightening and comforting moments.
Each painting explores a rule skilfully woven together to form a narrative that is open to multiple interpretations.
According to Shaun Tan, “Each picture might be seen as the chapter of an unwritten tale that can only be elaborated in the reader’s imagination”
Discover possibilities beyond the picture frame and journey into an oddly familiar emotive landscape.
The exhibition which features original works curated with pages from the picture book and exclusive video footage is on display at the State Library of Western Australia until January 27.
When: 19 December 2014 – 27 January 2015
Where: The Gallery, Ground Floor, State Library of Western Australia
Entry: Entry is free. Open during library hours
More information:
- Family friendly exhibition
- All venues at the State Library are wheelchair accessible
- Copies of Rules of Summer are available from the State Library Shop
- Find out more about State Library Exhibitions
- Rules of Summer official website
State Library of Western Australia Blog 