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More interested in what's happening under the surface than above it, Nick Veasey has X-rayed more than 4,000 objects over the past decade because "they look cool." By Jacqueline Tobin
TWO YEARS INTO HIS CAREER, BRITISH PHOTOGRAPHER NICK VEASEY MADE A DECISION TO never do anything but X-ray photography. Fifteen years, several dozen commissioned ad jobs, a book and gallery shows in the U.K. and the U.S. later, his commitment remains unbroken. And awestruck viewers of his work continue to ask the same question: "How the heck did he do that?"
What's special about Veasey's X-rays is that every mundane object he comes in contact with - a perfume bottle, a bulky tractor, a delicate flower, a bat (the flying kind) - is revealed to have a compelling, even beautiful allure. A recent campaign for a Victoria's Secret fragrance and skin care line, as well as a similar one for a Chinese makeup company, zeros in on the ingrethents of the product, including the Acai berry and Patchouli herb In their natural glory.
Two of Veasey's most frequently seen pieces are perhaps the most head-scratching. One shows an entire bus filled with several skeletons, both seated and standing; the other shows a Boeing 777 and airplane hangar. The latter is assumed to be the world's largest X-ray photograph. "It's like painting by numbers," says Veasey, 47, as he explains his process matterof-factly. "Everything I do involves breaking down and X-raying various components of an object and then putting it all back together again In Photoshop." It sounds easy but he conveniently omits the fact that he's risking dangerous radiation exposure every day.
"The tail that really wags my dog," he continues in a charming...