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The elements collection

The Periodic Table Science made visible through element portraiture

The building blocks of matter photographed as individual objects with texture, structure and physical character.

Each portrait turns a familiar square in the periodic table into a real material specimen. Select any element marked with a green dot to reveal its photograph and explore it at full size.

Cadmium element specimen photographed by Eduard Florin Niga
Transition metal
Atomic number 48
Atomic mass 112.414
Group / period 12 / 5
Symbol Cd
Matter made visible

Chemistry becomes portraiture.

The periodic table is usually read as a grid. Here, every photographed square becomes a physical subject.

Elements may appear metallic, crystalline, granular, fibrous or almost organic. Macro photography makes their surfaces legible and turns scientific classification into visual discovery.

The result is both archive and artwork: a systematic study of matter, organised by chemistry but experienced through shape, light and scale.

Atomic structure — visual study
Interactive archive

Explore the elements.

The table reads the photographs already present in your Elements gallery. A green dot appears only on an element that has an image. Select it to reveal the portrait below.

Photograph available
Selected element

Cd Cadmium

Element 48 in period 5 and group 12. Select any photographed element from the table to replace this portrait.

Atomic number 48
Atomic mass 112.414
Group / period 12 / 5
Classification Transition metal
Cadmium element specimen
Element 48 — Cadmium