FRENCH – Phlegm is a Welsh street artist, draftsman and illustrator based in Sheffield, UK. His dark style tinged with mystery and his sense of unusual detail make him an outstanding artist.
Phlegm chose his pseudonym in memory of the doctors of ancient Greece who thought that this fluid was responsible for apathetic and emotionless temperaments. It is the humorous wink of a prolific artist who states in an interview in Modart that “boredom is the worst insult you can do to life”.
His work follows a distinctive narrative structure tinged with surrealism. Endowed with a tortured spirit where black ideas sprout, Phlegme gives life to characters, animals and misshapen objects straight out of his imagination. The viewer is immersed in a dreamy world – half nightmare, close to science fiction – His creatures evolve, often in a city filled with machines, different levels and other mechanical devices … Unlike many street artists, Phlegm’s style emerged from his comics and not from lettering. His self-published “comics” come out four times a year and are the genesis of his work on murals. In recent years, intoxicated by the freedom offered by street media, Phlegm focused on street art and produced at a brisk pace. His heroes often suggest a fatal destiny. This was the case literally, during his first solo exhibition The Bestiary at the Howard Griffin Gallery in London in March 2014, where the artist demanded that his works be destroyed and not marketed. Visitors who had the opportunity to admire his frescoes (before destruction) attest to a great work in relief on wood that unfortunately does not allow photos to reflect his genius.