Nicholas Panayi was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1961. After winning a government scholarship, he studied painting in the renowned Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.His work, even though undergoing continuous transformation, retains a rich emotionalism expressed though vivid contrasts of line, surface and texture. Mainly figurative, the work tends to express the internal struggle of humans as a refining process towards spiritual liberation. The internal borders of divided Cyprus and the emotional turmoil of both the Greek and Turkish communities as well as other world events involving human suffering evoke sparks of creativity in the artist.