Nick Veasey
A man with x-ray vision, Nick Veasey creates art that shows what it is really like inside.
Nick’s work with radiographic imaging equipment takes the x-ray to another level. Everyday objects are transformed from the banal to the beguiling and the layers and make-up of natural items are shown in fantastic detail.
These works are a classic example of the fusion between art and science. The results transcend classification as photographs, having the gravitas to motivate science institutions and art galleries to acquire the artworks. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has added his work to the British National Collection of Photography. Nick regularly exhibits at fine art galleries the world over. The ethereal and fascinating works have collected a host of international awards.
In today’s world that is obsessed with ‘image’, superficiality and artifice, Veasey counters such insubstantial diversions by delving inside and discovering what things are really made of. Metaphors for the images are many and varied. Their context is very relevant in today’s society with the prevalence of surveillance and the use of x-ray technology for security.
The artist’s work can be seen as a project that harnesses and exploits modern technology to advance the boundaries of perception and of art. But what sets him apart from other artists is not only the technique. Instead of creating or transforming things, he is exposing something that always existed, objects we think we know but we don’t. Not from the inside out.
Creating art with radiation is complex and dangerous but the results continually inspire Nick to keep experimenting.
The subjects of his attention are manifold. Flora and fauna, DJ Decks, ordinary objects such as shoes, a typewriter and even a classic Morris Mini. Mainly, whatever surrounds us and is tangible. Although working with the visible, he uncovers the invisible. Veasey’s x-rays penetrate the surface and take us on a journey into a world otherwise hidden and unseen. The inner life of objects and organisms is revealed, the surface replaced with transparency, the inside becomes the outside – what is left is the form, the aesthetics of form, the inner beauty.
The work is a dazzling balance of extremes, using lethal radiation to produce results of great lyricism and grace. Veasey’s x-rays penetrate solid matter to render it ghostly and gentle, giving the viewers that precious feeling that they have somehow seen reality afresh with an aspect to life that they have never before experienced.
He is an artist who pushes boundaries in pursuit of his calling.
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08 worksTHE PROCESS
Working with x-rays is dangerous. So safety is paramount. Nick has built a bespoke concrete structure to contain the radiation. This building that appears to be a black box is where he now creates the vast majority of the x-ray work.
Inside the black box are several different x-ray machines and a film processor. The different x-ray machines have varying outputs and capabilities. The x-ray machines consist of a head unit that emits x-rays and an electronic control that drives the head unit. The head unit is inside the area built to contain radiation, the controls outside.
Subjects to be x-rayed are placed on a lead floor or wall. Film is placed under or behind the subject. The x-rays that emanate from the head units pass through the subject and make an image on the film. That image is exactly the same size as the objects. If an object is too large to fit on one film, several are used.
Once the set-up is complete Nick retreats from the x-ray room to the controls outside. He then selects an appropriate exposure time for the subject (more x-rays are needed to image a heavy object made of steel than a light object made of plastic).
Now the x-ray exposure is complete Nick re-enters the x-ray room and collects the film. This film is processed and then scanned on a high-resolution scanner to obtain optimum detail and sharpness. The digital file created by the scanner is then carefully cleaned and retouched by Nick’s small group of image specialists. Considering that, for example, the plane image consists of over 500 separate x-rays these specialists really are special. Sometimes colour is added, sometimes not. The result is an x-ray of unparalleled detail and beauty.