When considering the works of an artist, it is impossible to separate the creation from the creator. An artist is his or her work. Sometimes this reflection is subtle, but other times it is rather obvious. In the case of the famous street artist NYCHOS and his mural art, the artwork is a wonderful byproduct of a rather unwonderful childhood.

NYCHOS was born and raised in the village of Bruck an der Mur in Austria. NYCHOS’s father and grandfather were both hunters who would take the young boy with them on their expeditions. For the young NYCHOS, the killing, skinning and gutting of these animals that were captured was somewhat traumatizing. While NYCHOS credits these years as leaving a massive impact on him, it was an impact that was beneficial, as these experiences would help create the artist’s authentic style.

The art lover cannot truly learn about NYCHOS mural art without learning about his childhood. NYCHOS couldn’t help but develop an odd fascination with anatomy and dissection. As NYCHOS the boy matured and his thoughts turned to art and creativity, he captured every moment as an opportunity to be inspired or to create. Comics and character design were a huge influence on a young boy with an eager mind and he quickly tried his hand at the craft. It would only be a matter of time before the NYCHOS would discover spray paint and the power of street art, marking the beginning of NYCHOS graffiti.

NYCHOS Begins a Career

Near the close of the first decade of the 2000s, NYCHOS artwork stepped into the graffiti art scene. The name he adopted was derived from Deinonychuswhich spray paint art lovers might be more familiar with as the origin for the word dinosaur or “terrible claw.”

It was 2011 in which NYCHOS mural work adopted the style that would go on to define his career. Combining his love for art with the fascination he developed of animal dissection, NYCHOS began to create graffiti art motifs showing animals with their exposed skeletons, muscles, and organs. One of his first works in this style was Fur Skin Skeleton. To quote the artist NYCHOS,

“Spongebob has a skeleton, people live inside rabbits and there is always something wicked underneath.”

What may be considered by some who view artwork by NYCHOS to be a morbid and unsettling style has drawn the spotlight onto the artist NYCHOS as he has developed a completely unique niche. As is often the case in the street art scene, NYCHOS graffiti has incorporated pop culture elements, painting what may be considered cartoon violence in a combination of characters and their internal parts.

But it isn’t simply the subject matter that makes NYCHOS artwork pop. NYCHOS has developed a very dynamic feel to his spray paint art, using fluid lines that breathe energy and excitement into the viewer. His spray paint palette is vivid and full of swatches that allow the corporeal scenes to burst off the wall. And with this energy and technique, NYCHOS continues to tackle the street art world one body part at a time.

The Meaning Behind the Autopsy

In the midst of all this odd violence, dynamism, and gross body parts, it feels as if NYCHOS mural work is art just for the sake of disturbing people; however, this cannot be farther from the truth. As most great street artists are, NYCHOS is attempting to spread a very real and personal message about the decaying society he finds himself in.

His capturing of innocent characters split open to expose their bones and guts is his view of the world he lives in. On the outside it seems all cute and cuddly, but when society’s shell is cracked open, one finds corrupt governments, unfair justice systems, and starving citizens. He has further addressed sociopolitical elements such as environmental awareness, creating a mural art scene depicting plastic inside of an orca.

The greatest message NYCHOS artwork is attempting to spread is the temporal nature of life. Inside the undying icons of pop culture is dying flesh. Inside the ferocious animals of NYCHOS graffiti is a dying framework. NYCHOS is lamenting the shame of beautiful creations dying every day before they can be shared to the world. In this sense, the artist’s ultimate message to those who view artwork by NYCHOS is the spread of creativity before it dies.

NYCHOS Artwork Splashes into the Art World

NYCHOS has been credited as a breakout artist, and one of the most influential artists from Austria. His mural art has spanned the globe both in the street art scene and in gallery openings, and his collaborations have been with some of the top names in graffiti art. In just the past two years, NYCHOS has had five solo gallery openings featured in Turino, Detroit, New York, San Francisco, and Singapore.

In 2005, NYCHOS established the Rabbit Eye Movement. This organization which originally started as a simple concept has developed into an agency that connects artists worldwide. The Movement is developed to encourage artists to work outside of the boundaries of society, a system which is doomed to fail at some point.

NYCHOS also helped form a team of street artist called The Weird Crew, all of which exhibit a highly unique style and collaborate on different pieces. He even made a documentary titled The Deepest Depths of the Burrow to document his worldwide travels. With his career only growing, it is clear that NYCHOS will continue to make waves in the street art scene.

What’s Next for the Artist NYCHOS

As is often the case with famed artists, NYCHOS is currently working on several projects with a full plate and a mind full of ideas. The artist NYCHOS is an active part of the Rabbit Eye Movement, helping the company market and spread awareness, especially through its clothing line which just recently dropped a new line.

Original gallery works such as Barbie Meltdown have occupied NYCHOS’s time as he continues to flesh out new ideas and create new works for his every growing gallery openings. However, the artist has not ceased to work on the streets as recent pieces such as the IDR Dissection in Amsterdam have shown. One of his larger street pieces, the Pillar of Unified Love in Porzuna, Spain. This massive undertaking features four murals which tell “the story of finding infinitive love by joining your soul mate.”

The pieces have been described as a departure from NYCHOS’s accustomed complexity and color as the artist attempted to reduce these murals to simple human skeletons in order to convey the message clearly and simply. Due to the speed of NYCHOS work, the artist is not slowing down when it comes to producing challenging, compelling, and groundbreaking art both collaboratively and solely, both internationally and in the gallery. The art world is sure to hear more from this talented artist in the very near future.