Beard Imitating Art: Gavin Turk’s close shave with past

After 18 months of growing an impressive beard, artist Gavin Turk felt it was time to shave it off — but not without being a little creative.

Assisted by male grooming experts Murdock he removed the hair in stages to emulate Auguste Rodin, William Morris, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, the photographer Man Ray, and finally a mustachioed Salvador Dali. Turk also dressed up in costume to further disguise himself as the artists. He asked photographer Ester Keate to document the process. His poses, turned into prints and posters, will raise money for his art education charity, the House of Fairy Tales.

The House of Fairy Tales was established to help children from socially or culturally disadvantaged backgrounds

Posters of the photographs will be available for £50, while prints will cost £350. They will be available for sale at The Other Art Fair in London from April 23 to 26.