mememhmmmn 9 11 20

Mememhmmmn

My eyes
My ears
My hands
My mouth
My nose

My eyes

Sash windows in the reflection. Windows to your soul.
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Without seeing the rest of a face you can tell real
motion by looking into someones eyes.
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I enjoy closing my eyes and sleeping more than normal.
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I want to get over this.
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My eyes are my saviour. I am so visual.
I see the sea nearly every day.
So very lucky. I watch the horizon.
The way the light fades at sunset.
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I can’t wait to clap eyes on you again.
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The eyes are the window to the soul…
Does seeing get kinder with age?
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I want to see the sea.
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Behind the glass.
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Concentrating on my eyes makes me frown a bit.
That’s probably OK, as I’m focused,
not angry at my progress.
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What beautiful blue eyes.
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My left eye looks like a fish in my drawing… I love what it
looks like when you open your eyes under water in the sea…
and can see the sunlight shining through the surface.
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My ears

Silence.
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All I hear is my inner dialogue.
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Obsessed with podcasts they have kept me company and
taught me so much in these isolated times.
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I love listening to the birds, the rain
and my children’s laughter.
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I miss no car noise!
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Is anybody listening?
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‘Ear ‘Ear! Are we hearing each other?
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I hear you.
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It’s so quiet that I can hear the birds.
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Something I noticed during Lockdown is how much I value
being able to adjust the volume of my surroundings.
I sometimes struggle hearing people talk in busy places
but I can turn the volume up or down accordingly.
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Silence is golden!
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Hear no evil. A word in your shell-like.
Do ears really keep on growing?
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My hands

Feeling with your touch or touching with your feelings?
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While I draw my hand, I think I’ll never be a hand model.
These hands I have help me create art, to cook, to draw,
to paint and work. Whether that work is at a computer or
around the house. I’ve been called ‘A safe pair of hands’
before which means that people trust me. But also are
maybe less likely to offer support. During 2020, being
‘stuck’ at home (I prefer the term ‘safe’) these fingers have
certainly gotten greener. I’ve tended to plants.From seed
through to making chutney. Writing this, by hand, makes
my hand ache a bit. I’m used to typing. Maybe I need to
write more by hand, to keep my muscles working. Including
my brain. Writing by hand seems to connect to my brain
differently. It’s harder to edit and order my thoughts.
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Keep thinking of a gorilla hand, all the lines!
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I miss your touch.
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Such a range from ‘her delicate touch’ to ‘he packed
a punch.’ We call our emotions “FEEL”ings.
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Are my hands clean enough?
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No touching the tube railings.
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The skin on my hands is so dry, my veins look very blue and
my silver nail polish is properly chipped off.
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If hands and fingers are hard to draw and look like a bunch
of bananas, why not try to draw a bunch of bananas and see
if they look like hands! Hope that’s a loooooong lifeline.
Too much loss already in 2020.
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My mouth

The silence is deafening.
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I’m usually quite smily in pictures but staring at my face
makes me look very serious. I’ve seen candid photos of
me looking angry (even though I wasn’t at the time).
Expressions are weird.
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My teeth are so wonky. Didn’t realise!
Great another thing to dislike about my body!!
But I actually love and worry about my mouth. It helps
bring lots of nice experiences but I know if I’m not careful
damaging words can come out of it. My poor mouth.
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If only more people spread kind words and kisses.
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‘Taste’ what you examine with your mouth and also your
own preferences with regard to EVERYTHING.
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Not telling the whole story
Seeing my lips makes me feel hungry!
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Speak no evil. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say
anything at all. Keep smiling as gravity brings the
side of your mouth down!
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My nose

Visually hate my nose, really quite critical but enjoy
trying to draw it without vanity. But my sense of smell
has been a great sense of comfort in Covid times. Burning
aromatherapy oils around the house. Geranium to uplift.
Lavender to soothe.
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I will miss you.
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I hate the smell of hand sanitiser.
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Using two monitors means I can see my nose in profile fully
for what seems like the first time. Smell is really important
to me. From helping me taste delicious food, to the scent
of the salty sea air or when things go wrong and bad as you
walk through a busy city. Whenever I get a cold, my sense of
smell gets heightened before my nose gets full up!
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I love the smell of fresh rain, roses, babies skin.
A smell can bring back a memory so vividly.
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I’ve always been told I have a cute nose.
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Smells are glorious but can be disappointing - think coffee!
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Blocked nose.
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I want to smell hot chocolate!
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The plumber came this morning to look at the boiler and he
smelt of old booze. My brother said to me when you smell a
rose close your eyes and in that second nothing else exists.
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Sniff. Whistle. Pores.
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Mark Titchner collaborated with service users at Sussex Partnership NHS
Foundation Trust to create the project Mememhmmmn (abbreviating the
words ‘My eyes. My ears. My hands. My Mouth. My nose.’) During a time
when most of the world has experienced separation and distancing as part
of the measures against the COVID pandemic Mark led a series of digital
workshops that focused on the idea of self-portraiture and, in particular, how
we experience the world through our senses. In each session participants were
asked to make drawings of their ears, eyes, hands, mouth and noses and to
compliment this a short piece of writing that related to what they have drawn.
The artworks created during these sessions have been collated here.
Thank you to all of the participating artists.
This publication is part of Make For Tomorrow which has been delivered by
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Make Your Mark
Heads On
Hospital Rooms
Arts Over Borders
Cogapp
And supported by
Arts Council England and NHS Charities Together

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