A person leans over an orange bench, their torso hidden behind a large, colourful cartoon cutout of a face. They wear black gloves and high-heeled boots with striped socks.

Bela Borsodi's bizarre shoot for Document is another real humdinger (some NSFW)

Words: Rob Alderson
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Date: 11 February 2013; Work
Photography

Every few months I remember to check back in with the brilliant Bela Borsodi and always find something on the New Yorker’s portfolio that I love. On this occasion it was this extraordinary shoot for Document magazine, fusing real-life models with some weird and wonderful illustrated adornments to produce a series which is by turns, funny, intriguing, silly and stylish. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to work out what exactly your eyes are seeing, but the cumulative effect of the photographs confirms how much I like Bela’s work, and that I should develop a more strategic approach to keeping up-do-date with his new projects.

A person poses against a black background, wearing a denim crop top and black leather shorts. A large, black and white comic-style illustration of flowing hair is layered over their head. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person stands against a white wall wearing a magenta cape, black stockings, and gold heels. A second face is painted onto their chest and shoulder, creating a surreal double portrait. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person wears a black bowler hat and a long white skirt. They hold a large, white cutout illustration of several distorted, laughing faces against their torso. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A collage of a person wearing a black blazer, corset and stockings, posing against a grey background. A second face is layered over their shoulder, and a red flower is painted onto their chest. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person in a white outfit leans over a life-sized cardboard cutout of a figure in a similar pose. The cutout is an illustration of a person wearing white underwear, set against a bright blue background. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person wearing a black hat and glasses stands behind a large, black and white cutout of a figure in a high-fashion pose. The cutout is positioned so the person’s head and arms appear to belong to the illustrated body. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person wears an avant-garde outfit featuring a large, sculptural top with black and white stripes. They wear a red clown nose and white gloves, posing against a plain white wall. Below, they wear colourful trousers with long, hanging fringes in red, white and black. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person with bright yellow hair and white face makeup embraces a blue and white 2D cutout of a human figure. They wear a blue and white striped outfit against a solid red background. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

A person stands against a bright red background, wearing an eclectic, structured outfit. They wear a grey bowler hat, a yellow waistcoat over a white blouse, and patterned purple and red trousers. — Above
Bela Borsodi: Document magazine

Further Info

www.belaborsodi.com

About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

Bela Borsodi's bizarre shoot for Document is another real humdinger (some NSFW)

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