You can be Madonna too

Want to be a pop star? Try Sleeveface photography which uses album sleeves and some clever angles to shoot quirky portraits. It's a rage on social networking sites in the West and the party is just coming to India. Main bhi Madonna, Michael, Marley will be the next big anthem says Lalitha Suhasini

Sleeveface at Seaface
It's close to impossible finding a Madonna LP in Mumbai, so we settled for a CD of Madge's 1994 unremarkable album Bedtime Stories. Unimpressive in content but perfect for our first sleeveface experiment. Singer-songwriter Suman Sridhar of the Mumbai-based genre-defying Sridhar/Thayil group took up the challenge of posing as our sleeveface model and was colour-coded to suit the Madonna cover. We had plenty of kicks in store -- from a nosey cop insisting we get off the lawn next to Bandra Bandstand, and Sridhar manoeuvring the rock-face in heels to the sunset that threatened to kill our shoot any minute.





The bigger dare? Sridhar had to lie down on the rocks so that the sleeveface could be shot in perspective. Perfectly uncomfortable. Next, photographer Apoorva Guptay realised he had to hold the sleeve in one hand and shoot with the other. He displayed exceptional control over both hands, keeping them perfectly still as he clicked away, while yours truly doubled up as a production hand. At the end, we were ready to call ourselves sleeveface pros. What do you think?


Singer, songwriter Suman Sridhar reveals her true face.
Pic/ Apoorva Guptay

Three years ago when John Roston and Carl Morris clicked loony photos on their phones as they masked their faces with record sleeves, at a bar in Cardiff where they DJed, they didn't imagine that the photos would be viral hits. So, when we stumbled on a link to what was described as "captivating examples of sleeveface photography," we grabbed the bait.

Sleeveface photography is a crazy take on pop art that is perfect for a generation hung up on social networking. Also known as LP (long playing record) portraits, Sleeveface photos make for eye-ball grabbing profile photos and are easy to shoot -- get your hands on long playing record sleeves that carry head shots of pop and rock stars, hold it in front of your face, aim and shoot. You can set up an entire costume drama around a sleeveface group shot of say, The Beatles, or make a dazzling solo appearance that also shows off your taste in music.u00a0

Bowie face
"We can't remember exactly, but it was probably David Bowie," says Roston, independent festival promoter and co-founder of the Sleeveface group on Facebook which has about 16,000 members. Form-shifting 60s Brit pop star David Bowie has also earned himself the maximum number of Sleeveface photos. It's little to do with idol worship and more to do with Bowie's self-obsession. "Bowie just happens to like his head big on almost all his record sleeves," explains compulsive sleevefacer and London-based magazine art director Christophe Gowans in an e-mail interview. Gowans, who goes by the Flickr nickname See Gee, also got hooked on to Sleevefacing in 2007. Says Gowans, "I love it because it works on many levels. Humour obviously, but it can also be insightful through the choices of juxtaposition. It is visually jarring in the way art can be. I love the crossing of a border from one space to another as a basic visual device."u00a0


David Bowie

Eric Clapton

Indian sleeveface
Bombay Elektrik Project's (BEP) Sudeip V Nair tells us that their art design head Amrita Bagchi introduced them to sleeveface when each BEP member wanted a distinct, funky Facebook profile photo. The company that's been pushing electronica and offbeat art events have plans to take sleevefacing beyond pretty mugshots and promote it at the next Wince! night to be held in Mumbai on May 17. "We've got some Sleevefaces from Chor Bazaar, which we plan to shoot. We'll have some sleeves at the event too if anyone wants to have their own Sleeveface shot," says Nair, of Wince!, an event where participants are encouraged to bare the most wince-inducing details of their lives.

Down south in Hyderabad, a just-launched production house Hands Media plans to release a satirical short film that uses sleevefaces. Says photo junkie Swaroopa Madala, who has just begun experimenting with Sleeveface photography with partner Harish Krishnan, "It's like reliving a childhood fantasy by changing your head and turning into a different person every day, and a famous one at that."u00a0

What fun
"Bringing these stars to an alternative life, and maybe bringing them down to size, is part of the appeal," says Gowans. There's no limit to sleevefacing fun. Gowans had a three-day sleeveface stall at the Hide and Seek festival in London in 2008, which promotes social games and "playful experiences". Roston and Morris also organised their first sleeveface party in London in 2008. He along with programmer, web strategising, music crazy friend Morris compiled a book of sleeveface photos with contributions from 300 Sleevefacers. It hit the stands in 2008. Although Gowans is yet to put his Sleevefacing skills to professional use, London-based radio station Smooth Radio launched a multi-million pound campaign collaborating with https://www.sleeveface.com/ two years ago. In India, the fun's only just begun.


London-based radio station Smooth Radio used Sleevefacing in its
ad campaign

Miles Davies

The handbook

How to figure what you need to Sleeveface
>>A Sleeve -- LP for best results or CD
>>A camera
>>A willing subject
>>For a self portrait, some practice

Watchu00a0 instructional video

Technology can take a backseat here, assures Gowans. "It doesn't really matter. iPhone, Ricoh R10, Canon Digital Ixus 430. You don't need anything hi-tech," he says. "Just jump in and have fun," says Roston about shooting with record sleeves. "There are things you learn as you go -- such as how far you hold the sleeve away from your face -- such that it affects the perspective. Or if you change your clothes to match with the sleeve it can make the photo better." The more you Sleeveface, the more you learn how to have fun with it, is Roston's most important tip to Sleevefacing.

The Indian Sleeveface

Avinash Kumar, VJ/graphic artist, Delhi-based B.L.O.T. (Basic Love of Things)
"Since Vinyl is not in vogue in India right now, and not too many people have access to an older collection of record sleeves, Sleevefacing might be a bit limited in number, but Bollywood posters and political propaganda photos are good options. Some of my friends tried random shots using book covers for a small photo-project."

Pradeep Bachrani, frequent Facebooker, video editor, Mumbai
"The idea is appealing. I'd like to make my own Sleeveface with Ozzy Osbourne, maybe. There's also the option of creating photo montages."

Samira Kanwar, founder, Babblefish Productions, Mumbai
"Sleevefaces can make you a bigger part of the music you love. It's interesting and could lend itself well to band photoshoots."

Navin Kansal, Creative Director, Digital Ogilvyone, Mumbai
"These days, advertising is not about talking down to consumers. Sleevefacing is not only a cool way to personalise photos, but also a great tool to empower consumers to create content the way they want to. It gives them control and serious bragging rights. But I'm yet to see any Indian ads use the concept."

Trend Forecast

Sleevefacing will crossover from photography to video says Swaroopa Madala, Hands Media, Hyderabad
"It is a viral concept. We want to use stock motion and use these Sleeveface photos in a video. We are still at the scripting stage. It won't be a story with a preachy social message. It will have a funny side to it which will make people sit up and think."u00a0

Madala also thinks the scope to use sleeveface photos in advertising is huge. "It's not just about a face. The technique can add humour to any campaign."

Lookout
For the India sleeveface page on the MiD DAY facebook group www.facebook.com/midday.infomedia