Smith Journal — January 2018

119 SMITH JOURNAL

Tell us a bit about yourself. I’m an Austrian
artist and illustrator currently based in San
Francisco, though I travel all around the
world. I mainly do big murals out on the street
or ink drawings, but I paint on canvas too.

How do you describe your art? I say I use
anatomy to investigate the stuff we usually
look away from, whether it’s body parts or
certain thoughts. My illustrations aren’t just
about organs and bones, even if those are the
first things most people see when they look
at my work.

Are your artworks anatomically accurate?
I don’t have any formal education in
anatomy. But I grew up in a family of
hunters, so as a child I was exposed to the
insides of all kinds of animals on a daily
basis. I suppose my interest in anatomy
evolved naturally; it just took a while to
figure out what to do with it. These days I
mostly refer to old medical illustrations for
inspiration. Accuracy is definitely important

• painting anatomical subjects without
  sticking to the anatomy doesn’t really make
  sense – though a bit of freestyle every now
  and then does no harm.

How long does it take to complete a piece?

I’m fast. On average a mural will take me

just three days.

What do you like about dissecting people

with your paintbrush? When you put it like

that my work sounds really cruel. But it’s

actually not. Anatomical portraits are just

my way of portraying someone. Behind every

illustration lies a slightly different fascination.

When I paint I ask myself questions, like:

“What’s actually underneath Marshmallow

Man’s skin?” or: “How can I show what’s

beneath Darth Vader’s mask?” Showing the

anatomy of different people really just means

showing how we are all constructed. In the

end, we’re all the same; we’re all made of flesh

and bone. Unless you’re the Terminator.

Do you have a favourite piece? In 2017

I painted a whale shark on a building in

Cancún, Mexico, and instead of my regular

cross-section style I painted it with completely

translucent skin. I like painting animals,

though I usually focus on pop culture

characters from the 1980s. Or musicians,

like my tribute to Lemmy from Motörhead.

Legends deserve to be honoured.

What’s the most difficult thing to paint?

Translucent layers. If you make one mistake,

the entire painting is ruined.

What is it like seeing your work on a

building, as opposed to in an art gallery?

Outdoors, your work is embedded in an

already existing context – and you can feel

that. The shape of the building or wall I’m

painting on will influence what I’m going to

paint, too. In a gallery, on the other hand,

the artworks are more isolated. I mainly

do murals because the nature of my work

generally requires large-scale surfaces,

and there are more of these outdoors.

Do your murals ever get graffitied over?

Yeah, but that’s just part of the game. It’s sad,

but there’s a golden rule: if you paint over

another artist, your piece has to be better.

If people stick to that rule, I’m happy to see

fresh paint.

Where can we see more of your work? I’ll be

in Australia in 2018, so maybe on the street.

Otherwise there’s always the internet. •

rabbiteyemovement.at

full body portrait

AN ARTIST KNOWN ONLY AS NYCHOS REVEALS THE INNER

WORKINGS OF HIS SUBJECTS BY STRIPPING THEM DOWN TO GUTS,

GLANDS, AND THE OCCASIONAL RED AND BLUE PILL.

Interviewer Chris Harrigan