Niall Shukla is a talented self-taught artist who specializes in cracking detailed portraits into laminated glass canvases by meticulously striking them with a hammer.

Hitting panels of glass with a hammer to create something beautiful sounds counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what makes Niall Shukla’s cracked glass art so fascinating. Using a variety of metal hammers and chisels, the London-based artist chips away at laminated glass panes, creating cracks that ultimately form clear and detailed pictures. It’s an art form that requires mountains of patience and nerves of steel, as one strike too powerful or in the wrong place can result in massive cracks that ruin the artwork, forcing the artist to start from scratch.