Not just in churches or psychiatrists’ offices; these days people choose to express their darkest secrets through art. And why not when artists and forums are inviting the public to try their hand at it and turning it into a full-blown art show Candy Chang of New Orleans held a show that invited people to write down their secrets on pieces of paper and hang them in a room in Vegas. The effect was cathartic, to say the least. While on a pan-India tour with her art show inspired to send out a message against violence on women and children, artist Sravanthi Juluri also invites people to write in their responses to her show in a postcard and hang them on an installation. Although not as serious as confessions, the artist backs Candy’s idea of providing a platform for the public as well. “It is a good way of getting people involved in art instead of them just being silent spectators. Expressions in art should be two-way. Also, not many would open up otherwise and this way the artist creates a platform.” From serious issues to more light-veined ones, artistic confessions have another outlet in postsecret.com, an on-going community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. “When you are talking to a priest or a psychiatrist, they are advising you on your confessions. But this is a pure form of expression, without a call for any guidance from the confessor,” points out abstract artist Brinda Miller. Artist Ashis Pahi, who has had several international shows, explains the sensibility, “People are expressing their inner feelings on a public platform. It is a reflection of today’s society and its freedom of speech and the maturity we have. This would not have been accepted 50 years ago.”
