YOUR PRACTICE APPROACHES OBJECTS IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS, NICK THROUGH REVELATION WITH X-RAY, AND ZÖE THROUGH IMPRESSION AND MATERIAL TRACE. HOW DID THE IDEA FOR TRACES FIRST EMERGE BETWEEN YOU?

Nick: My wife Zoë has recently completed a Masters at the Royal College of Art in Ceramics and Glass, and one of her many projects was texturising into clay by embossing and debossing in various ways. So its all her fault!

Zoë: Traces came about through my exploration of ways to express the meaning and thought processes of my work. The constant theme in my recent work is using pressure and tension to push the limits of materiality.

THE TITLE TRACES SUGGESTS BOTH A PRESENCE AND AN ABSENCE, SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN THERE, BUT IS NO LONGER. HOW DOES THIS IDEA MANIFEST WITHIN THE WORKS YOU'VE CREATED TOGETHER?

Nick: With Traces we are recording recently obsolete devices. As the world speeds up much of what we have around us becomes useless. This is unsustainable. 

Zoë: For me Traces is all about memorialising the object.

NICK, YOUR WORK REVEALS WHAT IS NORMALLY HIDDEN INSIDE OBJECTS, WHILE ZÖE'S PRACTICE CAPTURES THE OUTWARD IMPRESSION LEFT BEHIND BY THEM. WHEN THESE TWO APPROACHES COME TOGETHER, WHAT NEW PERSPECTIVES EMERGE?

Nick: I think that when you view my internal investigations together with Zoë’s modern fossils, the message of unsustainability is more immediate and powerful.

Zoë: For me, the objects were part growing up, bringing music and culture into my life. They were something that’s was portable and often worn close to the body, making them more personal and intimate. In making these sculptural pieces I use a skin like material for a sensuous smooth and tactile finish, I want to create emotion in my work, that feeling which can be both physical and psychological.

AS ARTISTS WHO SHARE BOTH A CREATIVE AND PERSONAL LIFE, HOW DOES THAT DIALOGUE SHAPE THE WAY IDEAS DEVELOP BETWEEN YOU? DOES COLLABORATION CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR OWN PRACTICES?

Nick: Yes it does, my wife has very high standards so I have to bring my A game!

Zoë: I have been on Nick’s x-ray journey from the very beginning so it has been a collaboration of ideas through the lens of his practice. I have quietly been progressing my own work which in this body of work I feel works beautifully together.

WHEN VIEWERS ENCOUNTER TRACES, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THEY BEGIN TO NOTICE, OR PERHAPS QUESTION, ABOUT THE OBJECTS AND IMAGES WE OFTEN TAKE FOR GRANTED? 

Nick: X-ray shows internal details, almost like a forensic enquiry – a scientific observation of design and enginuity – these objects were aspirational and desirable in their time, but are now no more than material waste. 

Zoë: From my perspective I hope these artworks trigger an emotional and physical feeling – of celebration, of personal memory, but also possibly of sadness.

WE'RE GRATEFUL TO NICK VEASEY AND ZÖE SCUTTS FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THIS FEATURE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE  TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR WORK, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH VIA THE LINK BELOW

NICK VEASEY COLLECTION

ZÖE SCUTTS COLLECTION