Faces of Manchester

As part of the first ever Manchester Science Festival, Nowgen ran a project entitled Faces of Manchester which was supported by a grant from The Wellcome Trust. The project stimulated interest in the genetic, social and cultural aspects of the human face and consisted of three strands:

• a film which sequentially morphed faces of the Manchester public
• an art exhibition revealing the average Faces of Manchester
• a series of public events focused on genetics and identity

Over 300 people were photographed in Manchester’s Arndale Centre and the images were morphed to create a captivating film. This work celebrates Manchester’s diverse community and was screened on the BBC Big Screen in Central Manchester and throughout the Manchester Arndale Shopping Centre. It was also showcased on BBC North West Tonight to highlight the project events that ran throughout the week.

Click here (4767kb) to view the Faces of Manchester film

Portraits of Manchester

The Faces of Manchester photographs were also used to create an art exhibit of ten composite images. Each canvas reveals an ‘average’ image which is made up from hundreds of photographs that are merged to form one face. The exhibition reveals the average Manchester male and female, the typical face of Manchester United and Manchester City supporters, and other groups such as the average Manchester shopper, bingo player and music lover.

The Faces of Manchester Exhibition has been displayed at The Museum of Science and Industry, The Nowgen Centre, Manchester Central Library and Central Manchester University Hospitals.

Download the ten 'Faces of Manchester'

Public Dialogue Events

The Faces of Manchester project included a lunchtime lecture series and an evening debate which focused on the factors influencing addictive behaviour.

Lunchtime Events included:

Understanding Faces: ‘Don’t let the way I look affect the way you see me’
Professor Dian Donnai (Nowgen)
Henrietta Spalding (Changing Faces)

Perfect Faces: Is beauty only skin deep?
Professor Gus McGrouther (The University of Manchester)
Dr Tony Little (TheUniversity of Stirling)

Evolving Faces: Past, present and future
Dr Bruce Winney (The University Of Oxford)
Dr Mairi Levitt (Lancaster University)

Family Faces: Appearances can be misleading
Dr Marion McAllister (The University of Manchester)
Jacqueline Donachie (Artist and Author of Tomorrow Belongs to Me)

Identifying Faces: The future of genetic identity
Professor Tim Cootes (The University of Manchester)
Dr Carole McCartney (The University of Leeds)

The evening event was entitled:
Facing up to Addiction: Is there such a thing as an addictive personality?

Chaired by BBC Radio 4’s Quentin Cooper this debate included presentations about the genetic, psychological and social factors of addiction. Speakers included Dr. Gerome Breen (UCL), Professor Mark Griffiths (Nottingham Trent University) and Brian Meah, who gave a powerful, and extremely moving account of his experiences as a heroine addict.