Phlegm

Phlegm is a self-published cartoonist, illustrator, and street artist from Sheffield, UK whose work can be found all over the world, often bringing new life to old factories, or other run-down or abandoned spaces.

Phlegm is known for his highly detailed, large scale works – including a massive, labyrinthian 8-story tall mural done in collaboration with The Steps Initiative and the city of Toronto in 2016. He has gained a worldwide following for his distinct, monochromatic narrative style. His street art has evolved from his self-published comics, and depict fantastical, mechanized urban landscapes and long limbed human-animal hybrid creatures.

Phlegm draws a contrast between a painting in the street – which becomes a part of a city’s architecture and is influenced by what’s around it – and the detachment of a canvas in an art gallery. The name ‘Phlegm’ came from one of the four temperaments in ancient Greek medicine; blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. Phlegm was believed to be responsible for an apathetic and unemotional temperament, but Phlegm the artist believes that art should be passionate, not bland or merely a commodity.