“You know how the mouth changes shape. I've always been very moved by the movements of the mouth and the shape of the mouth and the teeth. People say that these have all sorts of sexual implications, and I was always very obsessed by the actual appearance of the mouth and teeth, and perhaps I have lost that obsession now, but it was a very strong thing at one time. I like, you may say, the glitter and colour that comes from the mouth, and I've always hoped in a sense to be able to paint the mouth like Monet painted a sunset.” — Francis Bacon

Left: Still from “Battleship Potemkin,” directed by S.M. Eisenstein, 1925. Right: Study for the Nurse (detail), Francis Bacon, 1957 (source: https://www.theartstory.org/blog/mouth-as-muse-francis-bacons-fascination-became-a-lifetime-of-painting/)

But what if you can no longer see the mouth? In this new normal of masks and social distancing, what other visual cues can we rely on to judge one's emotions? How do we hold on to the glitter and the colour?