Renowned street artist and muralist Phlegm has had his work, ‘Pandemic Diary’, featured at Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery.
The Welsh-born and Sheffield-based artist, whose professional name comes from Ancient Greek medicinal practices, has had a residency at the Gallery since January, and will be featured there until July.
The artist’s portfolio of work, which includes murals, pen/ink drawings, comics and sculptures, have been featured in many exhibitions since his rise in popularity and has earned him global recognition due to his distinctive style.
The work presented in the exhibit was created during the 2020 lockdown, born of the artists observations as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded. It consists of 67 pen and ink drawings, which can be explored through a booklet guide provided by the gallery. The booklet explains the artwork in the order it was created, and what each piece means in relation to different cultural shifts that took place during the lockdown.
The drawings are accompanied by sculptures from Phlegm’s 2019 exhibition, ‘Mausoleum of the Giants‘, which has become a staple of the city’s visual arts collection.
‘Pandemic Diary‘ is described as blurring the lines of reality between the Covid-19 pandemic and the imaginary world that Phlegm has created throughout his career, using abstract figures in his distinct gothic art style.
Amy, 20, a nurse who visited the exhibition said: “It’s really detailed and I like the illustration. I get from the art that he (Phlegm) didn’t have a good time in lockdown and felt very isolated from the outside world.
“I really like the mentions of death, because a lot of isolation was shown throughout the pandemic, but never the reality of how many people were lost.”
Maciek, 20, a student, said: “I like the depth of the shading in the drawings, and that you can get the feeling of being locked up, not being able to see anyone.”
Highlights of the exhibition include drawings of social distancing (‘Phlegm, Social Distance‘), toilet roll shortages (‘Phlegm, Don’t Panic‘), and people taking on new hobbies (Phlegm, New Day New Me).
You can visit Phlegm’s ‘Pandemic Diary‘ at the Millennium Gallery until July 7 2024.