告解室

In my dream, I was attending a collective exhibition with my classmates and professors in a classroom. The huge space was decorated as a maze with a 2-meter-tall cloth. Each of us was assigned a corner to display our artwork. In my corner, which was a small room and could barely fit in a single person, there was a video televised at the center. I curiously observed the lady illuminating purple light in the video, who was dancing and talking to the viewer. She guided me through a relaxing meditation, as if she could read my mind.

The installation was a rectangular box hanging in the air, marked with a sentence “I dreamed that you are watching my video…” in English and German. Inside the box, there was a video of a female-dancer dancing in a purple room. The audience had to probe into the box from its bottom, which provided them a semi-private space. On one (inner) side, the audience in the box was in privacy; on the other (outer) side, the other audience observed the audience in the box. The participant with the box then became an organic, complete sculpture. The introductory section of the video started with a German voice-over “Now, close your eyes. Focus on your hearing.” and ended with “when you are ready, please open your eyes”. This section was a guide for meditation, aiming at helping the participant focus in the exhibition room with a hubbub of noise, then relax, and enjoy the dancing performance.

Both pole dance and psychotherapy involve the courage of being observed — the former breaks physical limits through spins, the latter confronts psychological abysses, yet both achieve healing through self-exposure. The video installation transforms this duality into a contemporary confessional: the suspended muted cube becomes a vertical booth where viewers, upon crouching inside, mirror the pole dancers. As German voice guidance dissolves exhibition noise, observers must confront raw visual impact: those tensed muscles aren’t erotic symbols but sculptures defying gravity. Like medieval believers finding redemption through gazing at crucifixes, this seven-minute private viewing uses others’ bodily narratives to deconstruct personal prejudices.

In the past of Catholic regions, people might visit the confessionals of churches and consult the priest intimately, so as to relieve them from the sin they had committed or the dilemma in their lives. Nowadays, people turn to one-to-one psychotherapy. Under privacy protocol, man relieve their pressure and get ready for their upcoming challenges. In this sense, this installation acted as a psychotherapy section. The participant entered an uninterrupted space and focused on a seven-minute-long pole dance performance. The pole dancer spinned around the pole and performed challenging moves, trying their best to conquer the gravity and reach an aesthetic balance. This aesthetics somehow recalled the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus sacrificed himself for restoring humankind to relationship with God. Since then, the cross became a symbol of ultimate love. It grants us extrication and the courage to move-on.

I was stressed out under this fast-changing, consumeristic society and the “liquid” social network. I believed, and wanted to believe, that I was not the only one, alone. This installation was a small confessional from me, in which you were sharing my dreamy psychotherapy. Relax, you are (not) alone.

梦里，我和同学们、教授在班级教室里“参观”集体展览。巨大的空间被一人高的长布围成迷宫的样子，每个人被分配了一个角落，用来展示自己的作品。我的“角落”里是只允许单人进入的房间，房间正中在播放着视频，我好奇地看着，只见视频里的女孩在散发紫光的卧室里一边跳舞一边和观众讲话，仿佛她知道我在想什么一样，用十分轻柔的声音缓缓引导我进行心灵放松和冥想。

最终作品以一种视频装置的方式呈现，视屏装置是一个悬挂的长方体盒子，外面写有德文和英文的：“我梦到你在看我的视频…”。需要观众由下方钻入观看，这样给观众一个半私密的空间，对于观者而言他/她是私密，而从装置之外的去观望正在看视频的人，人与装置成为了一个有机的整体或是一个完整的雕塑。视频开始是一段德文旁白，由“请您闭上双眼，将注意力放在听觉上”开始，到“当您准备好了，请您睁开双眼”结束。是一段冥想引导语，意在将教室展览的空间，和展览期间嘈杂的人声结合，通过高度集中注意力彻底放松，专注的欣赏舞蹈。

钢管舞与心理治疗都关乎被凝视的勇气——前者突破身体极限的旋转，后者直面内心的深渊，本质上都是通过自我暴露获得疗愈的过程。视频装置将这种双重性转化为当代告解仪式：悬挂的静音方盒如同垂直的忏悔室，观众躬身进入的瞬间就与钢管舞者形成镜像。当德文导引消解展厅噪音，观者被迫直面最原始的视觉冲击：那些绷紧的肌肉线条不是色情符号，而是对抗重力的雕塑。正如中世纪信徒通过凝视十字架获得救赎，此刻的七分钟私密观看，实则是借由他者的身体叙事，完成对自身偏见的解构。

从前人们犯了错，或生活中有了困惑，可能会去教堂的忏悔室，和牧师一对一的交流，出来后，全身心都得到解脱。如今，人们选择和心理治疗师一对一的沟通，在隐私保障下，心理压力会得到释放，也能重振旗鼓，投入到接下来的生活。那么这个视频装置，也可以是一种治疗，在钻入观看的七分钟里，无人叨扰，单纯的去观看一段钢管舞。钢管舞者在钢管上不断旋转以及做出高难度动作，她们在努力的去消解重力，从而达到一种平衡美。这种美跟同样悬吊在十字架上的耶稣似乎有某种隐秘关联，在圣经里耶稣甘愿为人类而悬挂在十字架上，从此十字架是至高无上的爱的记号，这记号让人得以解脱，让人拥有前行的勇气。