Slowly Shaved Swimmer

by: Lucia Cabanova

The Dutch Filmmaker Bart Hess’ new short film titled ‘Shaved’ portrays a male model completely covered in shaving cream, which is then gradually taken off by a two meter long blade manipulated by two human shavers. Hess found his inspiration in the swimmers that are presently competing at the London Olympics, and wanted to expose their exceptionally toned bodies. The sound effects in the film are actually real-life shaving sounds that have been manipulated to help create a rhythmic, yet unusual atmosphere. In his own way, Hess manages to transform an every-day grooming session into a mesmerizing routine.

“Normally within my work I am looking for the limits of a material,” says Hess. “But in this film, I was looking for the limits of the shaving ritual by scaling it up to include the whole body.”

Bart Hess is definitely not merely a filmmaker. He typically explores various aspects of the creative world by uniting material studies, animation and photography.  He often collaborates on an international level with influential names such as Lady Gaga, Lucy McRae and Nick Night.