When on the move, we’re constantly scanning our surroundings for faces.
It could be real people or face-like entities, such as seeing a smiley face in random objects.
The fancy name for this phenomenon is ‘Facial Pareidolia’. We detect faces incredibly fast, meaning anytime we see a pattern vaguely resembling two eyes, a nose and a mouth, we can’t help but raise a smile. Facial pareidolia is triggered by the brain’s natural tendency to seek out familiar patterns and meaning, where there is none.
In this playful Joy Run, we’ll attempt a unique kind of people watching, as we start seeing faces in things as we run.
How to run this theme: Seeing Faces in Things
You could choose to spot real faces or a more creative interpretation of the theme.
Seeing faces in things could mean:
- the head of a statue
- faces in a crowd
- a building’s face-like windows and doors
- a selfie
- objects designed with a face on them
- a face in the clouds
- a snap of a friendly dog
- a face on a tree trunk
…or something else.
Use your imagination to see more faces (and joy) in the wild.
Remember to post your runs and on Instagram and/or TikTok, tagging in Joy Runs. You can also share how you found this Joy Run theme and how it made you feel in the comments box below.
I’m excited to see where a spot of facial pareidolia takes you!
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Where the joy of faces took me
Fun fact: the Metro newspaper actually interviewed me once about spotting animals in clouds on my runs.
As I told them, finding faces in everyday objects and natural phenomenon is a fun little game I like to play, as it turns runs into a bit of a treasure hunt. It’s also a bit addictive… when you start seeing faces in things it’s hard to stop.
For this Joy Run, I decided to combine a trip to Castle Howard with run around the beautiful gardens to see what I could find.
There I’d find a wealth of busts and statues, set against a backdrop of the main house and rolling Howardian Hills.
The parkland is littered with 18th century follies, temples and monuments, plus hundreds of stone faces. Found on gates, fountains, rooftops and statues, it was a fun way to run my way around.
Finding faces in Tony Cragg sculptures
My Joy Run at Castle Howard also coincided with an outdoor exhibition by internationally renowned sculptor Sir Tony Cragg.
Many of the otherworldly works are based on outline drawings of human faces and body shapes incorporated with geological formation.
Old meets new, as the eye-bending sculptures make for stark contrast to their ancient surroundings. Most are larger-than-life in size and drenched in child-like colours or reflective stainless steel, meaning they’re easy to spot and join the dots as you run.
This is the first-ever contemporary sculpture exhibition at Castle Howard and a happy coincidence given I’d conceived the ‘Faces’ theme only the day before.
The Tony Cragg exhibition runs until 22 September 2024.
The science behind facial pareidolia
Seeing faces in things stems back to our earliest childhoods.
From birth, we spend a lot of time looking at faces for familiarity and cues of mood. As social animals, we also need to react quickly and assign intent to their expressions i.e. are they friend or foe? So, the brain is primed to quickly detect others whenever it can.
My own personal theory is that there’s also a link between seeing faces in things and empathy. Empaths are more attuned to facial stimuli and eager to understand mood and motives. Even the quickest glance at human-like features in an everyday object can call this superpower into action.
Ever noticed that once you start seeing these faces peering back at you, they start to appear everywhere?
Well, there might be good reason…
Product designers have long been using the persuasive techniques of facial pareidolia to make commercial objects more loveable and desirable.
By discretely or playfully integrating facial features into logos, adverts and the facades of everyday objects, such as cars, furniture, and even kitchen utensils, brands can trigger a sense of familiarity and connection with customers. It also makes them way more fun!
→ Other ‘Running to Wonder‘ themes
