Shaun Tan’s “The Arrival” utilizes wordless sequence as a method of telling a story. The layout of the imagery is varied, some pages containing uniform rows of squares, some with a mixture of sizes and some with a large single image. The style reads as a collection of photographs in a scrapbook, cleverly placed in a readable sequential fashion. As a reader, the aforementioned variance in layout is what makes this sequence understandable. Tan directs the point of focus to characters based on the background behind the images. Throughout a majority the imagery is focused on the main character’s journey into this new land, but as he meets people the background changes to show their journey; I see this as a scrapbook within another scrapbook; a short but necessary diversion from the main plotline. Background change is also used a device to indicate time and mood change. During the scenes where the characters go into hiding, the background shifts to black, indicating a shift to a darker side of the story in this area.
Immediately this pictorial sequencing style reminded me of photographer Duane Michals, who has notably created many works of worldess sequential imagery. While his stories are not nearly as long or developed as Shaun Tan’s, his format remains similar.
--David
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