'I’m speechless. It's revolting!' Why I love faceswapping apps

Suddenly, absurd faceswapping memes are everywhere, with everyone from Kanye to the Canadian prime minister having a go. A highly qualified expert in the art of the facial trade looks at their rise

I hardly ever get to say this, but when it comes to faceswapping, I was an early adopter. I have proof. In late 2011, I posted a Facebook album called SWAPPED FACES, which consisted of 36 pictures of friends and family with their mugs superimposed on each other. As meme pioneering went, it was pretty impeccable. Founded on the app iSwap Faces, it featured your classic male-female and child-adult switches, and took an early, improvised step towards the more surreal variations that have lately become commonplace with a particularly uncanny shot of my friend Ross holding a dog, or, at least, my friend dog holding a Ross. Commenters were quick to recognise the importance of my work. "This is just one of the best things I have ever seen," one said. "Again, thank you." "Holy fuck," said someone else. "I'm speechless. The taller one is particularly revolting."