Since the beginning of time, man has been interested in dissections. From those fascinated with uncovering how our bodies work, to school biology lessons forcing the squeamish to understand, the idea of unpacking the complicated blood and bone machines we occupy has long tickled both the science and art worlds. While countless artists have utilized the art of dissection, from KAWS to Jason Freeny, few have reached the specific and accurate renditions Nychos weaves with paint.
Born in the Austrian countryside two hours south of the country’s capital city Vienna, Nychos is the persona of the artist known only as Nicholas, or Nick Nychos, which in his own words sounds like a character in a novel’s name. Having been born into a family of woodsmen and builders, Nychos was exposed to the more brutal sides of life from a very young age. Working with his father while he would strip and clean the new trophy animals he’d hunted, it was like Nychos subconsciously knew where life would take him. Instead of getting grossed out by the flayed bodies, he began to understand the mechanics behind these creatures.
“I was watching my dad dissecting animals from early on, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’” he says, adding that some part of him already knew the type of art he would later create. “I was observing, and he was explaining a lot of things, you know, like what everything is… I’m not sure if I could really say it was a traumatic experience. It was more like, ‘Oh, this is how animals work.’ And I already knew that we work the same way. ‘This is how it looks inside. Oh, interesting.’ And then later in school, you know, when you had these plastic figures for the …
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Author: Jon Cappetta / High Times
