THE INVISIBLE ISLAND
Written & Illustrated by Shao Ni
Unpublished
2023
'Do you believe in unicorns?'
A half-Japanese, half-Taiwanese woman moves through loss and confusion in her late twenties while encountering a mysterious diary by a Japanese botanist from 1950s London in her grandmother’s attic.
The Invisible Island is a 48-page borderline book informed by my Taiwanese queer identity.
I employ metaphor to transform personal experiences and collective histories into a fictional narrative that incorporates elements of magical realism. The story unfolds through two parallel first-person diary accounts from different times and places, aiming to explore themes such as nationalism, culture, and gender identities through the lives of individuals living on the margins.
