What happens in Vegas... 2012 - by Candy Chang

Remember the "Before I die" public art intervention we featured here on March 2011? (and the one held in Portugal inspired by it?) Well, Candy Chang held another creative and interactive public art exhibition in Vegas last here...

As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - but what if we could share with full discretion and glimpse into the hidden lives of the people around you? 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 Artist-in-Residence at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, organized by The Cosmopolitan and Art Production Fund, Candy Chang lived in the The Cosmpolitan for a month and turned its P3 Studio gallery into a contemplative place for people to anonymously share their confessions. Inspired by Post Secret, Shinto shrine prayer walls, 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 and painted select responses on large canvases. The space also featured original, contemplative music by Oliver Blank – listen to it here.

By the end of the exhibit, over 1500 confessions were displayed on the walls (more photos to come) and responses reflected a range of emotions: Your name is tattooed on my ass, I still love her two girlfriends and five years later, I like porn more than my husband does, I sold heroin to my friend and it ruined his life, I’m afraid I’ll die young just like my mother, I eat too much cheese, I’m 30 and I’ve never had an orgasm, I stole over 15,000 from the company I work for, I feel some days that I’m socially unacceptable, I don’t know what I am doing and I’m running out of time… By collecting the confessions of the hotel’s visitors, this project seeks to create a cathartic and voyeuristic sanctuary for this temporary community and help us see we are not alone in our quirks, experiences, and struggles as we try to lead fulfilling lives. July 19 – Aug 12, 2012.

Installation team: Abraham King (construction), Kristina Kassem, Wendalyn Lewis, Caroline Oh. Gallery coordination: Krista Salley, Lily Tran, Casey Fremont Crowe, Sheila Marcello, Cory Mervis. Thank you to Yvonne Force Villareal.