Nick
Veasey is a man who sees the world in X-ray vision. X-ray is a spectrum of
light invisible to the human eye and harnessing it produces a magical
insight. From a bridal couple to items of clothing and large machinery, his
work has integrity and honesty as it shows items for what they really
are.
Stripping away the layers of everyday life to reveal an
often-surprising beauty, his cutting-edge techniques challenges society’s
obsession with the superficial by using x-rays to of everyday objects and
show what they are really like under the surface.
He delves
inside objects to discover what things are really made of, often using
metaphor to allude to the prevalence of surveillance in modern society.
Fascinated by the inner workings of everyday items, Nick details every aspect
of a subject, exposing all to the human eye. His art seamlessly combines
elements of engineering, science and photography to achieve powerful and
intriguing results.
Each piece tells a unique story,
inspired by true events or personal experiences, they resonate with Nick’s
mantra of “inside we are all the same” and evince a powerful emotional
response from viewers. Believing there is always more than meets the eye, he
exposes his subject from the inside out and captures beauty in its mechanical
workings, creating an expressive new dimension to the concept of fine art.
Inspired by the floral radiographs of the photographer and scientist Albert
G. Richards, Nick has X-rayed everything from Christmas trees to the fashion
designs of Alexander McQueen. Most famously, Nick created a life-size
rendition of a Boeing 777 jet airliner using over 1,000 separate X-rays,
which subsequently featured on the side of a hangar for United Airlines.
Nick’s
unexpectedly lyrical imagery is created using machines from the world of
medical and industrial radiography. Invisible to the human eye, high-energy
electromagnetic radiation is an ethereal but dangerous medium, and his studio
wall is lined with 35cm of lead. As one of the few artists to master the
creative possibilities of unifying science and art, he is a genuine
innovator, and his work is becoming ever more technical and impressive. Nick
favours the Diasec method, which creates artworks that elegantly appear to be
floating off the wall in a modern frameless style. This gives the X-ray
itself the greatest possible impact and detail, as museum quality archival
Chromogenic prints are pressed between di-bond on the back and polished
Perspex on the face. Many people think these artworks are back-lit, but it is
the contrast between the high-quality gloss deep black background and
detailed X-ray that makes the art ‘pop’. These images are also available as
light boxes, which offers another way to accentuate their x-ray concept. He
has also made a series of stunning and ingenious lenticular portraits, using
a ribbed lens which refracts light from different angles. Multiple images are
split behind the lenticular lens to create animation and this adds an element
of playfulness to his images of the human form.
Nick’s
artworks transcend classification as photographs, having the gravitas to
motivate both science institutions and art galleries to acquire them. During
2017-2018 he had a retrospective exhibition at the world’s largest
photography museum, Fotografiska, in Stockholm and the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London have recently added his work to the British National
Collection of Photography. A major four month retrospective of his work
opened at the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg in October
2021, featuring 50 x-ray artworks, three types of video and detailed
information on his process and inspirations; a large scale event which has
made a massive impact.
As well as working with prestigious
brands including Porsche, BMW, Levi’s and Nike, Nick has exhibited worldwide
and featured in publications including National Geographic, Wired and the
Independent. He has appeared on television for the BBC, NBC and Discovery
Channel, lectures regularly and has published two books. Unafraid to push
boundaries of subject and scale, Nick is driving the X-ray Art Market.A major four month retrospective of Nick’s
work opened at the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg in
October 2021. Large scale and high impact, the exhibition features 50 x-ray
artworks, three types of video and detailed information on Nick’s process and
inspirations.
"We all know we shouldn’t judge a book
by its cover, that beauty is more than skin deep. By revealing the inside,
the quintessential element of my art speculates upon what the manufactured
and natural world really consists of."
