Sometimes non-verbal facial expressions can say it all, as this video tries to prove. The Sticks + Stones students traveled around Berlin and asked others to look at a variety of images that referenced different cultural traditions, political beliefs and lifestyle choices. The viewer is seen reacting to a series of images, each seen at the bottom left corner of the video. The facial responses to these images were recorded as a way to reveal the viewers’ thoughts regarding these potentially controversial images.

The genesis for this project came from our symposium participants’ frustration at the inability to communicate verbally. In the absence of easy conversation, students relied heavily upon hand gestures, drawings and facial expressions. This project seeks to invoke the initial non-verbal reactions of the viewer to different visuals, exposing their hidden biases. These reactions are influenced by cultural backgrounds and reveal the differences that underlie our everyday judgments of the world around us.

As many students realized, this was not an easy endeavor. Inviting others to openly judge and visibly label them, was an exercise in risk, potential danger, and emotional turmoil. Todd Nelson, the first t-shirt wearer, was asked afterward, “Would you do it again?”

His answer was an emphatic No.

This initiative provides insight into the true nature of words. They can push us into action. We hope these t-shirts promote you to act: Carefully consider the words you use as they hold great power to heal or to wound, an idea in contrast to the nursery rhyme.