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In Lay Bare, the UK experimental filmmaker and animator Paul Bush assembles thousands of close-up photographs of some 500 people – young and old, from around the globe – into a transfixing stop-motion style animation, which he describes as ‘a composite portrait of humanity’. Each sequence invites us to inspect and wonder at a different part of the human body, from birthmarks to bellybuttons. Offering a unique perspective on our bodies’ nooks, crannies, surfaces and textures, the video makes the familiar fascinating and strange through repetition.
Director: Paul Bush
Music and Sound Design: Andy Cowton
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Cosmology
Tiny, entangled universes that form or fizzle out – a theory of the quantum multiverse
11 minutes
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Astronomy
The history of astronomy is a history of conjuring intelligent life where it isn’t
34 minutes
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Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
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Metaphysics
Simple entities in universal harmony – Leibniz’s evocative perspective on reality
4 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
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The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes