A new exhibition is now on view at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel called Shell Architecture: The X-Ray Photography of Jim Wehtje.
Historically, X-ray technicians have used X-ray machines to make images – called radiographs – of the human body and other subjects, including shells. Shells are a great subject for X-ray imagery, as the process reveals internal structures, the shapes of empty spaces within shells, and a perspective of what lies behind a shell’s external appearance. Shell Architecture exhibits 23 photographs encompassing a range of local and global mollusks including gastropods, bivalves, marine, and terrestrial species.
Jim Wehtje is an X-ray technician, photographer, and author. While people have been making radiographs of shells for decades, Wehtje’s unique and stylish merging of radiographs with color photography distinguishes his work from traditional shell X-ray imagery and demonstrates remarkable connections and contrasts between the inside and outside of a shell.
“Jim is a master in the rare artistic technique of blending regular photography with X-ray imaging,” said Museum Science Director & Curator Dr. José H. Leal. “We’re delighted to be presenting his work to the public.”
The exhibition is open during regular Museum hours from 10am to 5pm daily with paid admission. It is on view through summer 2027.
Learn more about the Museum’s permanent and special exhibitions HERE.