Thoughts Formed Part 2
James Lockey & Monday Smile A While
Thorne & Moorends
A collection of images and films created by local artist James Lockey.
Each film was created in response to his conversations with Thorne & Moorends’ very own Monday Smile A While Group.
Thoughts Formed originally was an Research & Development project funded by Right Up Our Street in 2020. This project gave James the opportunity to explore new ways of collaborating with people and the chance to push himself creatively, resulting in a new way of working.
From the start James was interested in getting the thoughts on the current situation from people that he thought to be underrepresented in the media, notably the voice of asylum seekers, refugees and the elderly.
Thorne & Moorends Monday Smile a While
Starting at the beginning of 2022 James continued his journey exploring the themes he had discovered in the first round of this project - this time with more of a focus of the lasting effects that Covid had on isolation.
Working closely with members of the Monday Smile a While group in Thorne, James interviewed individuals and created a series of films representing the thoughts they had shared.
Group Leader and volunteer Pauline Denton says that the group’s mission is to “help reduce social isolation primarily for the elderly within our community and promote positive mental health & well-being. Engaging in lots of different activities, games, and quizzes. With a lot of laughter thrown in too.”
Some of the conversations with the Monday Smile A While Group explored the sense of community in Thorne & Moorends post-pandemic. Which led James to think about the two questions below which inspired his work.
Was it still intact and have we learnt anything?
What can we learn from older members of our community?
““When I first chatted with the group we looked at what it was like for them during the pandemic and also what it was like coming out of lockdown, seeing people for the first time, missing human connection on the streets in the shops etc and how people coped with that.””
THE FILMS
A.I. Generated
The below films were created using Artificial intelligence. James Lockey fed into the A.I. Generator words from conversations he had with individuals from the Monday Smile A While group to create this visual reflection of their thoughts.
Solo Dance Piece
Using words from conversations James had with individuals from the Monday Smile A While group, Dancer Alex Mettam explored the themes that the group had shared and created this beautiful dance piece to represent their thoughts.
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