Nick Veasey creates x-ray artworks of classic Ferrari's
Nick Veasey (*1962) creates all his art with x-rays, but this is by far his most ambitious project to date. He is creating an exhibition of classic Ferrari automobile x-rays.
In October 2014, Veasey had the opportunity to begin a project in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Development Center for X-Ray Technology EZRT in Fürth Germany, where one of the worlds largest x-ray machines was developed. This machine represents a major scientific advancement in the development of x-ray imaging. The technology allows capturing high quality images, of large and complex objects, without the need of dismantling them. The quality of the results represents a major and revolutionary leap in x-ray imagery. Nick Veasey and this new technology are an obvious and creative marriage. His first x-ray of this series, a 1969 Ferrrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti, and reveals the design and engineering excellence inherent in these extremely valuable and rare cars. The eventual x-ray artwork series will tell the story of the evolution of the prancing horse in the 20th century. The intention is to cover the range of models of a 365 Mondial from 1955 and culminating in a Testarossa from the 1990's. The development of these iconic automobiles, with the inner view the x-ray will expose, will make the evolution apparent. The project will continue with other iconic examples of motoring history from other car manufacturers.
Veasey tells us his work is a statement confronting our superficial society, the obvious metaphor being beauty is more than skin deep. So why has he taken such an aspiring product such as Ferrari to work with? Surely he is in danger of contradicting his mantra by making one of, if not the most glamorous brands the subject of his endeavours. Interestingly the results are so compelling, so beguiling and so different to the Ferrari we expect to see that we are left inspecting an interjection by the artist that is a scientific marvel and an artistic first. Veasey has a knack of making the familiar unfamiliar, of introducing an ethereal quality into everyday existence. The artworks connect immediately - we all know what a car is - yet we are drawn into these pictures, drawn in to discover, to question, to reason. Most of Veasey's x-rays illustrate the inner workings of the subject, yet in these Ferrari x-rays, it is not just the technical details that resonate. Veasey has taken the world's most prestigious product and simultaneously created intriguing art, whilst showing us all what truely lies beneath.
