The hidden stories of Tibet and border politics in a traveller’s journey. A full-colour graphic work, two and a half years in the making by Fish Wu.
After leaving my job in 2009, my wife and I returned to Tibet aboard the Qinghai–Tibet Railway. Out in the wilderness, along treacherous roads and on foot, time seemed to slow down, leaving nowhere for our questions and uncertainties to hide.
Places we once knew had become unfamiliar surveillance zones. Lamas we had once known no longer recognised us. We crossed paths with a wanted photographer and unexpectedly witnessed a sky burial. A Tibetan government official commandeered our bus, yet we were rewarded with a breathtaking rainbow over Mount Everest. A bookstore clerk carefully wrapped banned books, while an elderly innkeeper at the border burned all her identification documents.
From Lhasa to Nepal, along muddy mountain trails, we encountered one unexpected turn after another. Even though we had not set out with any particular questions, this journey, constantly crossing borders, ultimately became the prelude to finding our way back to everyday life.
About the Author
Fish Wu
Born in a small town on the coast of the Yellow Sea in China, Fish Wu spent fifteen years studying and working in Nanjing before drifting between different countries. Through the everyday lives and memories of ordinary people, his work reflects the cracks and fractures of a changing era. With a painstaking, time-intensive approach to drawing, he captures the wrinkles and traces that carry the weight of time.
He is the author of the graphic novel Letters from Taipei and has independently published several collections of his artwork.
