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Artist’s X-ray images seek beauty underneath

X-rays – they’re not just for doctors’ offices and airport security anymore. At least, not for British artist Nick Veasey. From tulips to tennis playing skeletons, laptops to a Boeing 777, Veasey intends to get beneath the surface of normal photography and see what’s below.
Image: Front-end loader
Who's driving that thing? This X-ray image by Nick Veasey shows a driver inside a front-end loader.Nick Veasey
/ Source: NBC News

X-rays — they’re not just for doctors’ offices and airport security anymore.

At least, not for British artist Nick Veasey. From tulips to tennis-playing skeletons, laptops to a Boeing 777 (probably the longest object ever X-rayed), Veasey intends to transcend the surface-level of normal photography and see what lies below.

The clarity of Veasey’s images require such high doses of radiation that the artist has to lock himself outside of his lead-lined studio while X-raying the objects.

The high levels of radiation would be lethal for humans and animals, so Veasey uses bones and models for some of his images.

After scanning the images, he then slowly arranges them into what becomes his art of seeing beauty on the inside.

Veasey’s new book “X-ray” is full of these images — and many people might be surprised to discover that they recognize one or two of them.

The images are actually quite prevalent and can be seen on product labels, magazines and walls of homes around the world.

How closely are you looking at — or through — the world around you?