The word “country” comes from Latin contra, which means “against” or “opposite” as in “contrata terra” – the opposite land. The term also means “resident” or “land,” which later becomes the antonym of “city.” The scene of the work is the country scene under a bridge connecting two cities – a clear contrast of urbanization as symbolized by the bridge. To begin with, I develop a series of narratives about nation and my own emotions. In the video, I try to appeal to the phenomenalism of signs to look for the common structure of the shared experiences through event description and evocative emotions. Meanwhile, the tactile experiences of materials and bodies provided by the installation make it possible to explore certain inner emotional politics.

The story is about a hobo living under the bridge. One day, he sees a doll named “country” on the street. He picks it up and brings it home. After a pleasant lunch and a romantic waltz with the doll, the hobo and “country” fall asleep. A while later, an island grows out from the navel of “country. ” Like a disease, it soon spreads to the whole body. With time passed, the hobo wakes up. He is shocked when he sees the dead body of “country.” To mourn for it, he peels off the island to make a salve with it. He also uses the national flag to bandage “country” like a mummy, hoping that it will bring “country” to the afterlife. In the distance, white flags are erected all over the tomb, and it is where the hobo buries “country.” He pulls out the flags and walks away.

The salve in the story becomes the tranquilizer to heal the wound and to soothe the pain. Applying it on the doll evokes the memory of the body as well as the beautiful memory with “country.” For me, “country salve” is a metaphor of our collective memory – people on the island are full of trauma and unfulfilled emotions, so that we need a slow and effective treatment, through reconstructing and reassuring our imagination of a country, to make a spiritual recovery. “Country salve” is produced from a diseased society, including the sense of helplessness when people confront the disturbing political situation, the anxiety when people want to take an active role in the political situation, and even the bruises from the clash against “another country.”