X MAN

Possessing the powers only one other man holds (hint: he wears a red cape and bears a giant “S” on his chest), x-ray artist Nick Veasey is on a mission to find out what beauty is. From handbags and stilettos to cadavers and jetliners, Veasey explores what’s beyond the surface of things. TREATS! chats with the UK-based artist from his studio in Harvel—converted from a cold war spying station—to find out how it all started, what he’s discovered along the way, and what he’s dying to x-ray next.

by Kelly Lee

 

 

What possessed you to x-ray your first object? How did this all begin?

It was a lucky break, really. I was struggling as an arty abstract type photographer when I got a call from a TV show that wanted an x-ray of a soda can. I had no idea of how to carry out an x-ray but had been collecting x-ray images. I’m a tenacious individual and after many, many blind alleys, but eventually found the road to x-ray heaven. I knew on that first dalliance with radiation that I had found my perfect partner.

 

What were you doing before the x-raying began?

I was just messing about—breaking all the rules of photography in the pre-digital age. I took pictures that were so abstract that my editing criteria was that if you could possibly fathom out what the picture was actually of I would reject it. I loved experimenting then and still do today. I used to put the film in the washing machine before processing, open the back of the camera in daylight, use wrong chemicals—all sorts of experiments. Some worked, most didn’t.

 

You’ve x-rayed everything from a human cadaver to an airplane. What’s been the most surprisingly thing you’ve discovered?

Generally speaking, the beauty in the banal. Everyday items can look amazing in x-ray. Specifically, the most surprising thing revealed to me was in an x-ray of a thornback ray. You can see the crunched up crabs it eats.

 

Speaking of cadavers…. Rigor mortis sets in after about eight hours, so you must work with dead bodies right away. What is that experience like? How does it affect you? And, on a more technical note, how do you receive permission to do this?

People are fascinated by my use of stiffs. I guess it is the freak-show element of my process. Well, it is not particularly pleasant. It does affect me but I’d rather they were dead than alive, as I’m not going to expose a living person to x-rays. Obtaining permission is complex so I just go and dig up graves, then fly back to my coffin before daybreak.

 

Is there anything you’re dying to x-ray that you haven’t yet?

I’d love to do a project on trash and recycling. Imagine a refuse truck in x-ray and trying to identify what people are throwing away. The detail would be fascinating—so much to seek out. Or x-ray crushed cubed cars and then try to guess what type of car it was from all the mashed up bits.

 

Anything you wouldn’t ever consider x-raying?

Apart from living people and animals…nothing.

 

Can you tell us about x-raying the Boeing airplane? What was the most challenging part and the most rewarding or surprising?

Technically it was the most challenging thing I’ve done and is the largest x-ray in the world. It took a year to complete and consists of around 1,000 separate x-rays. The whole project was pretty extreme. Just getting permission to do it was a bureaucratic headache. Having seen it printed life-size at 185 feet wide, the detail is pretty good. I’d do it differently if I did another, but I’m proud of that picture.

 

 

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever x-rayed?

Over the years I’ve x-rayed some pretty weird things but one memory stands out. I x-rayed a Big Mac hamburger. It looked disgusting, as the brightest parts of an x-ray are the densest part of the subject. And a Big Mac had some strange looking bright spots in the patty. One thing that does surprise me is how my works can appear otherworldly. X-rays can be slightly sinister and elevate the everyday to the extraordinary.

 

Which pieces do you feel hold the greatest importance?

Like most artists, I’m more interested in my current projects that what is in the past so excuse me if I concentrate on my latest project called “Emptiness.” This series is based on things in life that flatter to deceive, leave you feeling let down, don’t live up to expectations…. Normally an x-ray reveals what the human eye cannot see but in this series I am also featuring objects such as sex dolls that are just full of air. Are they vacuous, or are the people who use them vacuous?

The other series I think that is important is my project based on Anna Atkins’ seminal cyanotypes of algae/seaweed. To combine x-ray, a dangerous and invisible spectrum of light, with sunlight, the natural spectrum of light that makes all things grow, was a pivotal period in my work. And the results are beautiful.

 

How has your work and process affected you and your thoughts on beauty? Do you look at people and objects differently now?

Well, I guess I’m a bit of a nerd. I occupy a strange space as I visualize a lot of opaque things as transparent. Not lecherous or perverted but certainly an x-ray geek.

My thoughts on beauty have changed and I really like that. It’s as if I’m still learning, still working out where beauty is hiding. Sometimes in the most unpreposing places.

It’s as if you are Superman with x-ray vision. So it must be asked: What is your kryptonite?

Bureaucracy, the X-Factor, and litter.

 

Who or what inspires you?

Great art inspires me. Music, literature, and the visual arts. In particular Bridget Riley as she creates art that has real energy. And she has done it consistently well.

 

What’s next?

My immediate ambition is to get my work in as many museums and galleries as possible. I hope to accomplish leaving a legacy of the greatest collection of x-rays. The series  “Emptiness” will be shown for the first time at Galerie LeRoyer in Montreal.

I’d love the opportunity to collaborate with scientists to document and share what goes on in this strange and hidden world. Imagine an x-ray of a space rocket or humanoid robot.

 

Finally, what do you hope viewers accomplish by witnessing your work? What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

I want to connect with as many people as I can so I like my work to be immediate. I’m not a fan of overly complex ideas. The best ideas are simple ones. If I can reach out and make people appreciate the beauty and intrigue in the world then I am happy. My overriding message is of substance and reality. I like things that have substance and I love to reveal the inner workings.

Too much importance is made of superficial issues—what you wear, what you drive, where you live. Then there is this facile obsession with celebrities. It freaks me out that people seem to hold celebrities in esteem yet all they may have done is fucked a pop star or two. What matters in life is finding inner contentment, or love, not inconsequential trivia. I try to delve deeper than superficial issues by stripping back the layers and revealing what’s inside.

 

 

 

 

Kelly Lee is a Beverly Hills-based lifestyle, travel, and fashion writer and is the editor of the popular daily style blog KellyGolightly.com. When she’s not sharing her discoveries with readers around the globe, she can be found shooting photos in the desert, scouting the next “it” destination, hunting for vintage treasures, or tasting the local delicacy of whichever country she finds herself in next.