You can now read the deepest fears and emotional confessions of strangers at a busy train station in the south of England.
The project of musician and software developer Alan Donohoe and Steven Parker, who make up creative digital storytelling partnership Free The Trees, “The Waiting Wall” allows commuters travelling through Brighton train station to submit anonymous confessions that are then projected onto a large screen for fellow passengers to read.
Messages for the wall can be posted and read online at thewaitingwall.com. So far, the messages range from confessions about how an individual spends the workday, to their secret fears, and how they’re tired of dealing with depression and want the world to end.
The hope is that the messages make commuters feel a little less alone as they realize that all their fellow passengers are just as imperfect and (slightly) broken as they are. And really, who hasn’t been a little broken at some point?
“Standing on the concourse waiting for yet another delayed, overcrowded train, will become a rare eye-opening and uplifting experience,” the description of The Waiting Wall on Free The Trees’ website says. “Inspired by the book Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton, ‘The Waiting Wall’, referencing commuters’ experiences, is an electronic display of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, “that would anonymously broadcast our inner woes,” thereby reminding us that “we are none of us alone in the extent of our troubles and lamentations.”
The project just may inspire train-takers to smile at a fellow commuter or have more patience in dealing with slow walkers and annoying passengers.
The display runs from September 21 to September 27 as part of Brighton digital festival.
What do you think, would Union Station be a better place if we could anonymously express ourselves? Let us know on our Facebook page.
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