Nothing makes art, or cellphones, more fun than making it social! Mobile media enthusiasts from across the pond have been celebrating cellphone art for quite a bit of time now. One of the more interesting exhibits to read about was called Phonetic Faces , and interactive photo display that serviced public contribution as one giant mash-up.

The video and concept is pretty interesting: the idea is to focus on time-based image capture in a high-traffic public space, then allow for multiple perspectives to merge into a hybrid portrait of the local community. It was a pretty sweet idea and a huge hit at the festival where it was held. Lol, who doesn’t get a kick out of a photo booth with friends, and what better ice breaker than a public display of one’s silly face :-P

Here’s an idea for anyone considering submitting to the festival: using the same concept, invite all your friends to take a picture with the same silly expression that you’d like for them to show on a photo mash-up. Point out the area (roughly) of the photo they need to be in (establish a distance and a way to take the pick, so we offer a static element to the collage). Mash-up all the photos of all your friends and you’ve got yourself a mobile collage! Can it win you $5,000? I guess it depends on how good…er…silly your friends look.

By Vinayak Ahuja