As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But what if we could share with full discretion? What if we could create more safe places to share as we try to make sense of our lives? Confessions is a public art project that invites people to anonymously share their confessions and see the confessions of the people around them in the heart of the Las Vegas strip.
As Art Production Fund Artist-in-Residence, Candy lived in the The Cosmopolitan for a month and turned its P3 Studio gallery into a contemplative experiment around anonymity, vulnerability, trust, and understanding. Inspired by Shinto shrines, Post Secret, and Catholicism, she created a place where people could write and submit their confessions on wooden plaques in the privacy of confession booths. Candy hung the anonymous plaques on the gallery walls each day so they gathered over time like a Shinto Shrine prayer wall. She painted select responses on large canvases. The space also featured original music by Oliver Blank – listen to it here.
By the end of the exhibit, over 1500 confessions were displayed on the walls: I still love her two girlfriends and five years later, I’m scared I’ll die alone, I eat too much cheese, Came here married to one girl and left married to two girls, I sold heroin to my friend and it ruined his life, I stole over 15,000 from the company I work for, I like porn more than my husband does, I don’t know what I am doing and I’m running out of time… Every passerby is another person full of longing, fear, confusion, and wonder, and there is great comfort in knowing you are not alone. Through this project, Candy sought to create a cathartic sanctuary where all of us became imperfect priests to help console one another as we contemplate our lives. July 19 – Aug 12, 2012. See all confessions on new the project site.