Sheath your arrows: the voluptuous red heart, international symbol of love, is reimagined in this a visceral new short by genre-defying Dutch artist Bart Hess. With echoes of high-tech fetish fashion and Jeff Koons’ contemporary pop art classic “Hanging Heart,” Hess’ latest video stages a Sapphic encounter from within crimson latex balloons. “I want to create a tension between the body and material—almost as though they become one,” says the multidisciplinary creative, whose work at the edge of sensation has included collaborations with Nick Knight and Lucy McRae, a neon fantasy for Tod’s and a head-to-toe slime outfit for the artwork to Lady Gaga’s last album Born This Way. Here Hess turns to fringe science, confessing a fascination with the mysterious phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). “It’s a physical sensation that most people describe as a tingling in the head or a ‘brain orgasm’ that can be caused by all kinds of sounds,” he explains of the intense experience, which, if you believe its proponents, can be provoked by online uploads of mundane tasks. “One video that definitely triggers something with me is of a woman playing with a balloon. Together with an amazing team I translated the idea into my own short.” 

What material are the balloons made from? 
Bart Hess: They're actually just normal balloons, but giant. I wanted to create the feeling that the balloons were made of fluid metal, so we made them really shiny with loads of lube.  

Could the models breathe in there?
BH: Yes, of course! We tested with the balloons for weeks to make sure it was safe. You can actually stay in there for about 10 minutes but for the shoot we only did takes of two minutes. We were really lucky with the models—they weren’t scared at all and knew how to pose, even with two-meter balloons on their heads.

Any risqué anecdotes from the set? 
BH: We were shooting this amazing shot of the girls’ interaction. After some minutes I felt the models should get some fresh air. With my Dutch accent I said “Girls it is time to breathe now!” Awkwardly, the girls thought I said, “Girls, it is time to breed now!”

Angelica (left) wears rose gold scrapers by H&H, bodycon dress by Victoria Beckham; Alice (right) wears rose gold scrapers by H&H, satin bra by Eres, net bra (worn underneath) from American Apparel, bodycon underskirt by Wolford.