Shaun Tan is many things. He's an Academy Award winning animator, he's an artist who has taken the fantastical to suburbia and made both feel real and otherworldly, and he's someone who has poured years into shaping personal stories into profound imagery.
To me, he's more than just those things. He's someone who has translated what it means to live in Perth, what it means to grow up in a version of suburbia that spreads far beyond our horizon, and more importantly, what it means to grow up in a multicultural landscape like Perth, where the history of pearl divers in Broome can linger in the ochre brick homes of Wanneroo, or vacant lots become the home to giant oxen.
This conversation with Shaun sees the artist open up about his work, the relationship with the suburbs, and how these aspects played into facilitating the translation of his acclaimed book Tales from Outer Suburbia into the new ABC animated series, Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia. It hits ABC iView on 1 January 2026 and it's quite simply one of the most beautiful, humane, and family oriented animated series I've seen in a while. This is not just a show for kids, it's for people of all ages.
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