Instead of Trump’s Wall, a Treehouse on the U.S.‒
Mexico Border

Overlooking a steel wall separating Tijuana and San Diego, Japanese artcollective Chim Pom has constructed a timely installation – a treehouse theycall “U.S.A Visitor Center.”Of all the controversial promises touted by U.S. president Donald Trump, theconstruction of a 3,200‒kilometre wall separating the U.S. and Mexico has always
seemed one of the most extreme, and ludicrous. Many architects and artists have
responded, some with renderings (https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/designs‒inspired‒by‒2016‒us‒election/) satirizing Trump’s proposal.

ﬀChim Pom, a Japanese art collective, has oered its own commentary, by way of a realtreehouse it recently constructed in Tijuana, Mexico. Titled “U.S.A Visitor Center,” theone‒room treehouse sits in the backyard of a Mexican family home, just metres awayfrom a rusted steel wall that separates Tijuana and San Diego.

The Tokyo‒based, six‒member group, known for its provocative works(http://chimpom.jp/proﬁle.html) that explore of‒the‒moment social issues, was inspiredby Trump, as well as by the experiences of one of its members. In 2012, Ellie (shedoesn’t use a surname) joined a Japanese video crew in Hawaii. In a dangerously
foolish gag, one of its members indicated on travel paperwork that he had beenpreviously involved in terrorist activities, resulting in several crew members, including
Ellie, being banned from entering the U.S. Ellie has made several applications to enter
the country since, ﬁnding herself denied each time.
Last summer, she, along with three other members of Chim Pom, were driving along
the U.S.‒Mexico border when the group happened upon a private home in the Colonia

ﬀ

Libertad district of Tijuana. Struck by the views aorded by the home — not only ofthe old steel wall and the “no man’s land” that sits between it and a second wall on
American soil, but of Tijuana neighbourhoods and a nearby wildlife refuge in San Diego— the group approached the homeowner, and asked for permission to build atreehouse in her yard. A grandmother of small children, she obliged.

The treehouse is bare‒bones, constructed of plywood and populated by a seemingly
random selection of objects that actually nod meaningfully to the issues of borders,
freedom, nationalism and immigration: a Japanese translation of The Adventures ofTom Sawyer is found near the pelt of a coyote, the name given to human smugglers.
The installation is intended, sardonically, as a visitor’s centre for those physicallybarred from entering the United States. “This project is Chim Pom’s work but also
belongs to all of those who cannot enter the U.S.,” the group says.
In addition to “U.S.A Visitor Center,” Chim Pom installed two additional, perhaps evenmore poignant artworks visible from the treehouse — “The Grounds” and “Libertad.”On Mexican land, the group dug a wide hole, symbolically representing the opening toa tunnel. In the strip of no man’s land, they placed a collection of plastic objects — awhite cross emblazoned with “Libertad,” a shovel and a ring that resembles theopening of a hole. The son of the homeowner had to scale the Mexican wall in order toplace it (https://www.azuremagazine.com/wp‒content/uploads/2017/01/chim‒pom‒
treehouse‒us‒mexico‒border‒trump‒wall‒6‒azure.jpg). “This piece was created precisely
to build a grave for the idea of liberty on American land,” Chim Pom explains.
“Together, the two pieces metaphorically suggest an imaginary underground tunnel,
linking the actual hole on the Mexican side to the fantastic plastic hole on theAmerican side, or the grave of ‘Libertad,’ or liberty.’ Equally visible from both theMexican and American side, this grave of liberty visualizes this unique strip of land
where freedom is most restricted.”

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