2026 Research Days
Binghamton Research Days Student Presentations

The Rooms We Hide: Challenging the Silence Around Our Inner Thoughts

Author: Allison Rances

Field of Study: Psychology

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Christopher Robbins

Easel: 43

Timeslot: Morning

Abstract: This project explores how people hide their insecurities in order to appear socially acceptable and it creates a space where uncomfortable thoughts become visible rather than suppressed. It presents a dollhouse that visually separates public identity from private experience. This project invites viewers to look and contribute to the interior, which will contain their written vulnerable thoughts in contrast to the neat and approachable exterior. The project ends with the burning of the dollhouse, complicating the idea that vulnerability should remain hidden. It draws inspiration from artists such as Tracey Emins, whose confessional artworks are inspired by personal experiences and emotions; Felix Gonzalez-Torres, whose participatory installations have viewers engage with vulnerability; and Joni Mitchell’s deeply personal lyrics about love, loss, and self-reflection. Ultimately, the project asks viewers to reconsider the boundaries between public identity and private emotion, and to imagine a world where expressing vulnerability does not lead to judgment.