Walls. Walls keep out the cold and stop the wind. But only if supported by a roof. Walls are built to defend from elements and enemies, to keep my property mine, and not for anyone to just wander in. They defend me, but also I must defend them, so which in effect is more liberating. If a wall is a shelter, or is it in fact a barricade against the outdoors, keeping us within its four barriers, neat and compact like we are in The Cube. I refer of course to the brilliant film and not the bullshit game show.
And what of its other meaning, that of a border. The Berlin Wall, Trumps famed wall to keep out the invading Mexicans, the Great Wall. These are territorial, significant that we use the same word for our houses. What is the difference between these and our own? They block out the outside world, they must be maintained, maybe not by garrisons and arms, but by paint, plaster and wall paper. They inhibit us from a life lived outside and they stop others from visiting who are not invited. What I would be doing right now if I didn’t have just one of these four walls? Well it would be entirely different from the relative warmth and comfort that I am in. This page would be wet and the tape player wouldn’t be working for a start.