Nick Veasey "Jimmy Choo, AP"
C-Print / Diasec
13" x 23"
Nick Veasey’s artworks always have a mysterious vision to them. He discovered the technology behind X-ray photography while working as a photographer for a television series in England and was assigned the task of photographing specific objects using this technology. His curiosity ended up taking over and he photographed his own shoes instead. The result was so exciting to him that the urge to experiment was instantaneous. He then entirely dedicated the next few months to developing and perfecting his new technique.
Nick Veasey’s photographs are a classic example of fusion between art and science. While the technology behind an X-ray is generally used for medical or security purposes, Nick Veasey opted for the purpose of beauty instead, internal and universal beauty that is. Everyday objects are now transformed, going from boring to totally exciting. His artworks present a mind-blowing balance of extremes, using X-rays to produce results that carry an unpredictable grace. Piercing through solid materials, the aesthetic aspect that is created from the X-rays give the photographs this dreamy, soft and fairytale quality to his artworks.
His practice examines the relationship between external appearance and the mechanisms that are hidden underneath the surface of what inhabits our daily lives. Two main ideas guide his thought process: the obsessive mindset of our modern society for appearance and the absence of private life. Nick Veasey ironically offsets these observations by using photographs that own an invisible quality to them, one that is not obtainable with a naked eye. He reveals the skeleton of which the object is conceived. He challenges us to change our attitude towards external beauty by offering the spectator an unprecedented and candid vision of the world, always with humour and finesse.
In a world where governments don’t hesitate to take over basic freedom rights and the private lives of the population, Nick Veasey’s work makes so much sense. He uses this technology, this tool of control towards individual liberty, with irony to create his artworks that have an undeniable beauty to them. Although the use of X-ray is complex and dangerous, this continues to inspire the artist to experiment.
Born in 1962 in the United Kingdom, Nick Veasey lives and works out of London, England. His photographs are found in the most prestigious and important museum galleries, including the Victoria & Albert Museum of London, the Pushkin Museum of Moscow, and even the Contemporary Art Museum of Taipei. He also won numerous prizes and acknowledgements, notably the Photographer of the Year award at the International Photography Awards in 2008.
Veasey is one of the few people who know how hard it is to get a crisp x-ray of a vacuum tube.11 For starters, the object has very little mass to absorb the radiation. And because the edges of the tube curve away from the film, the x-rays get scattered about, causing distortion. So Veasey shot this tube in a series of 10-second bursts. The succession of blasts builds up the energy necessary to capture the fine details, while their short duration keeps background radiation from clouding the picture.
