About

 

Composed of a series of webinars, that ran consecutively for six weeks in June and July 2020, Facing the Mind was a collaborative project developed by Mojo Film and Leeds University, for artists and creative people with mental health issues. The theme of the project was how the face and the mind have been represented in the history of cinema.

Each webinar was composed of two components: firstly a theoretical-historical introduction, and secondly, a practical-artistic session, involving creative activities known to have a positive effect on mental wellbeing - drawing, photography, and filmmaking.

The project was structured in the following way:

Weeks 1/2: How did early films focus on what might be called 'mindless faces', depicting young children or facial expressions?

Weeks 3/4: How did directors working during the modern period (from 1920s-1940s, or thereabouts), represent the face as a 'window' to the mind?

Weeks 5/6: How did directors working from the 1960s onwards represent the face as a 'mask' over the mind? What is a 'mask'?

​From these questions was generated further questions, including: how do we express our feelings? How do we relate to others? How do we build our identities?

​The group collaborated on various pieces of artwork based on discussions generated in these sessions. This artwork can be seen here.

​This project was funded by the Ignite Scheme, run by the Cultural Institute (Leeds University).

​Click on the tabs at the top of the page for more information.