Bart Hess

Bart Hess is exploring several fields that straddle material, animation and photography, these fall within the commercial and art world. Bart works in primitive and infinite ways. He works with his instinct and starts by using a material on the body, exploring volumes and ways of re-shaping the human silhouette. In fast speed, expelling all his creative energy. He creates imagery that captures future human shapes and new body form’s. Bart is discovering a low-tech prosthetic way for human enhancement.

Bart is also well known because of his collaboration with artis Lucy McRae and the collection he worked on with Walter van Beirendonck. After the video you can read some of his explanations on his art – excerpts from the interview he gave for We Make Money, Not Art in 2008. He also did the infamous Slime Art scene from the Born This Way video for Lady Gaga.

Prosthetic technology, where robot or machine meets with human nerve ending and flesh is definitely an inspiration but not an obvious link when you see the result of my project. Genetic manipulation has a clearer connection where it allows or dictates a new or changing evolution. This combination of nature, technology and evolution inspired me to create my own new animal archetypes. In my “Hunt for Hightech Animal Kingdom”, animals can change their prints to distract predators, or grow their hair meters longer to appear bigger.

I really believe these are the fashion furs of the future. Why kill an animal and re-form the fur into a shape? Why not have the animal already shaped to your body, have it living and breathing around you, like the shoes. Whilst the technology is not there yet, in the meantime the animation is used as an inspiration for the fashion industry. At the moment I’m consulting at the Stijlinstituut in Amsterdam making animation and photographic collages to express and create future atmospheres. This gives me the opportunity to re-create ideas that really do have an impact on trends in the future, be it fashion, product or architecture.