Press “1” to confess
BY Pike Krpan
Guelph multimedia artist Dawn Matheson was trudging home one night when she heard a woman confessing her disappointment with life to a friend in an alleyway. Matheson stopped to listen. “I recognized myself in her confession.” she explains, reminded that everyone has dark days.
A decade later, Matheson has now recreated this epiphany with her Confession Alley project. Matheson has collected anonymous admissions via a telephone hotline and in person. She’s disguised the voices of those who’ve requested it, and will replay them in a back alley as part of Guelph’s Edifying Edifices multimedia festival, in early November.
Among the dozens of confessions she collected: one woman owned up to a secret love of Shania Twain’s music. Another to accidentally running over the family cat and never telling her kids. By listening, the audience starts a process of recognition, community forgiveness and acceptance. While the project doesn’t promise the confession will scrub away the stain of a dark secret, it may offer some release to the confessor.
But why an alley? To Matheson, alleys are where our private lives are publicly displayed, yet where we can remain hidden—a perfect place for confession.
