Bringing art to the streets in an entirely different way this week, Suzhou-born experimental artist Hu Renyi has arrived. Some might say the 'devil city' needs to come clean, and so it's not surprising that Hu’s 'Confession Car' is back for its second visit to Shanghai in just six short months.
Less of a car and more of a lorry, the custom designed, all white ‘confession vehicle’ invites the general public to enter inside, put on the all white ‘confession clothing’ (some sort of strange boiler suit) and write out anonymous confessions, providing only their nationality on the paper. Having spent just two days collecting Shanghai’s confessions in 2015, the vehicle will spend five days travelling freely throughout the streets of the city this time around, with only tentative destinations to guide its course.
Inspired by the poignant forced Chinese prisoner confession letters of the Cultural Revolution, Hu Renyi’s Confession project began in 2012 on the streets of New York, and has so far collected over 7,000 confession letters. The Confession Project was originally intended as a way to examine the similarities of human communication across different cultures. The project has collected confessions from participants from over 50 countries, and Hu Renyi hopes that its latest arrival in Shanghai might be able to boost this number.
‘The project gives participants from all walks of life the opportunity to let go of their darkest confessions; the "Confession Car" reaches a much greater audience than is possible in a traditional gallery setting,' says Hu. 'We invite people from all over Shanghai to come and take part in the project, by stepping inside the car and releasing their sufferings.’
The 'Confession Car' will be about town from Saturday 28 May-Thursday 2 June. If you fancy giving it a go, the tentative schedule can be seen below. You can also request a special on call visit (for the real sinners among us) by calling 180 1791 7963.
May 28- June 2
Yuanmingyuan Lu: 1.30-2.30pm
Weihai Lu: 3.00-4.00pm
Yishan Lu: 4.30-5.30pm
Wukang Lu: 6.00-7.00pm