Every Bush and Tree Looks like an Enemy

The series of “Every Bush and Tree Looks like an Enemy” （草木皆兵） by artist Kunlin He, are completed during his residency in Headlands Center for the Arts. The name of the title is a Chinese idiom, which describes the fear of the fleeting side caused by mistaking the bushes and trees as enemy soldier in a famous battle in Chinese history. The changing of local landscape caused by establishing the 16’’ caliber cannons, which were built for the purpose of defending the fictional large warships from Japan during the World War II in Marin Headlands, is applied as the background for the work. Kunlin combines his understanding of the national community and the famous Chinese idiom then applies to his work, which reflects the collective fear arising from global nationalism, through his own creative language of painting, video, and installation.