Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Are Made Of Blood And Guts Like Everyone Else
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Since the world finally got our first look at the titular adolescent reptiles of notable karate skill in the trailer for Jonathan Liebesman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, there has been a great deal of discussion about their physical appearance, most of it decidedly negative. While the majority of us are concerned about how they’ll appear on screen when the Michael Bay-produced adaptation, one artist wondered what they might look like on the inside, and we don’t mean mentally or emotionally or anything as esoteric as that.
Artist Nychos took it upon himself to deconstruct the four members of the TMNT family, peeling back their skin, paring away the layers of muscle, and basically breaking them down piece by piece. I really enjoy how, once the face has been removed, each of the exposed skulls still appears to be screaming. That’s a nice touch.
The whole gang is here, including the blue-clad swordsman and ostensible leader Leonardo…
…the purple-masked Donatello, bo staff and all…
…the nunchucks-wielding, cowabunga-spouting Leonardo…
…and Raphael, traditionally the darkest, most brooding, and temperamental part of the subterranean quartet of do-gooders.
These pieces are part of Nychos’ gallery show “Street Anatomy,” which is currently showing at FIFTY24SF Gallery in, you guessed it, San Francisco, if you just so happen to be in the neighborhood and want to pop in. As good as these pictures look and as cool as they are, you can’t help but assume the look even better full size and in person.
This isn’t the first time Nychos has ripped his subjects apart in this manner. The most memorable and intense are a series of anatomically broken-down animals rendered in huge mural form. They’re not only fantastically composed, but damn impressive to boot. Imagine you see one of these while you’re walking down the street, spying that skinned gator might be cause for a momentary pause in your journey.
Ditto for this shark.
And while it is less imposing, physically, this Doberman Pinscher is still pretty damn nifty.
For good or ill, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opens on August 8, unless those rumblings about reshoots and delays have something to them. The appearance of the Turtles isn’t the only thing that has been changed, their origins have been tinkered with as well. Instead of an accidental encounter with some discarded ooze, it turns out the guys are created in a lab by Shredder and April O’Neil’s grandfather in an attempt to manufacture new heroes. At least they’re not aliens like they were supposed to be in an earlier incarnation of the script, that’s something, right?
