your favorite sneakers have been x-rayed and this is how they look

toeing the line between photography and radiology, british x-ray artist and photographer hugh turvey has collaborated with lyst to expose the inner layers of some of the summer’s most hyped sneaker styles. from the $100 nike vapormax to the $1000 louis vuitton archlight, the photoseries reveals the complex construction and fabrication of these much lusted-after shoes.

nike air vapormax flyknit

images courtesy of the artist

turvey and lyst’s images use x-ray technology to create what he calls xograms, a fusion of visible light and x-ray imagery. to shoot the sneakers, the artist allows x-ray light to pass through the various materials used to construct the shoe, catching the perfect balance of exposure in order to expose the various elements used to create the shoe. 

nike air vapormax flyknit

self-defined x-ray artist, turvey uses 17 x 14 inch film to produce images of sneakers at a 1:1 scale. of his selection he reveals that gucci’s SEGA flashtrek proved to be the most challenging sneaker to shoot due to its high-density materials and gem detailing. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see the level of detail as seen in the gucci sneakers’, turvey explains. ‘aside from the gems, you can see in the heel of the shoe small pins and a metal shank which are characteristic of traditional shoe construction and demonstrate another level of quality build that I just didn’t expect in a sneaker.’

yeezy desert rat 500

transforming them into works of art, turvey’s x-ray images expose internal details of the sneakers transforming them into art pieces and commemorating the craftsmanship they represent. ‘we experience life on the surface but visually delve a little further and a new world is revealed’, he continues. ‘these xograms expose the hidden world of construction, design, materials, form, function and ultimately design that goes into every sneaker.’

yeezy desert rat 500

balenciaga triple s

balenciaga triple s

lv archlight

gucci SEGA flashtrek

gucci SEGA flashtrek

fila disruptor II

fila disruptor II