The Finger | Clarendon Fine Art

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."

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Biography and work by Nick Veasey