Lifestyle

People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station

Your writing’s on the wall.
Your writing’s on the wall.
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
By
Thu-Huong Ha
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If the success of anonymous messaging has shown us anything, it’s that people have a lot to get off their chests.

A new art project at a train station in Brighton, UK, is taking anonymous confession to a wider audience—prominently displaying user-submitted secrets on a digital screen in the station’s waiting area.

Posting secrets in a public forum is nothing new, but this project forces passersby to confront unexpected existential crises where they would normally see advertisements.

Musician Alan Donohoe and designer Steven Parker, inspired by Alain de Botton’s idea of a digital Wailing Wall, built The Waiting Wall for Brighton Digital Festival. It will display in Brighton Station for a week starting Sept. 21. See a selection of the messages below—at turns dark, self-loathing, heart-breaking, familiar.

Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall
Image for article titled People’s secret confessions and existential crises are on display in a UK train station
Image: Courtesy The Waiting Wall