The body as an object of medical research

The work of Nick Veasey, which is featured in the British journal of photography, shows images produced using an x-ray machine. This type of image is usually seen in a medical environment and not used by photographers. Veasey makes large prints of the images by stitching together a number of x-rays to create one large piece. Veasey photographs various objects, from small animals to planes.

His images are produced in the same way as any other x-ray that is produced in a hospital. Short wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation are passed through an object onto photographic film. Because the radiation passes through some objects easier than others, the film has to be exposed in different ways. For example time has to be taken into consideration depending on the object and how dense it is. The images are eventually Photoshopped to make sure they have maximum clarity.

The amount of detail on the prints makes them stand out and the harsh white of the detail against the dark black background makes them quite striking as photographs. They are clear and crisp and look like stills rather than x-rays. They also look quite graphic and like illustrations rather than photographs. Shooting humans is quite a difficult challenge as they can’t be exposed to radiation so Veasey got round this by using skeletons in rubber suits or actual corpses. The interesting thing about his images that involve humans is that the viewer wouldn’t know whether the object was living or not. In his images such as the one below they appear to be doing normal everyday things like any other person.

Although his work doesn’t use the body as an object of medical research, the way he produces his images does change the way we look at things and how much the eye can really see. His work also provides an opposite to a world that is obsessed with appearance and the way things look on the outside rather than whats on the inside and underneath an object or a persons exterior.

www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/profile/1940376/penetrating-gaze-ray-photography