Does the picture on the front cover have a certain likeness to a
picture from the eighteenth century?
Yes, it does. It was actually inspired by a painting of James Cook's
landing at Botany Bay in 1788, I'm not sure
what the title of it is, but I found it as an illustration in an encyclopedia
when I was doing my research into Australian history at the beginning of
working on Rabbits. I think the artist is E. Phillips Fox, and it was painted
around 1900. If you can find the original painting, you'll notice that the
composition is similar to my own painting, and to some extent I am referring
directly to the original image by placing my rabbit figures in the same
positions. I ended up making the ship very big because I wanted to give a real
sense that something very dramatic is happening, and that the world of the
rabbits is both weird and intimidating.
We only have one question for Shaun Tan because all the questions we
would have liked to ask have already been asked and answered. We would like to
thank Shaun Tan for illustrating such amazing images and taking his time to
answer questions.
Thanks; I've enjoyed reading your questions and especially how you have
paid attention to small details, which can often be quite important, as well as
attempting to answer your own questions before asking me what I might think.
Cheers,
Shaun.
