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Issue 41 / 2012

Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.

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12 THE GUESTLIST NETWORK www.guestlist.net Issue 41 / 2012 PHLEGM STREET ART FEATURE By Harry Cathead @harrymatei The word 'genius' shouldn't be thrown around recklessly, but once in awhile you just can't help it. Phlegm is a special kind of street artist, who doesn't mind changing styles and doing huge jobs. It's obvious that this guy loves what he's doing, simply from the sheer amount of effort one can see has been put in his work. When we asked him for a few personal insights, we found out that he's not a man of many words: "I hate talking about my work. I just draw and paint." Well, then, if you want to let art do the talking, let us split the hairs our ignorant selves. With an academic degree in fine art and a successful career as illustrator out of his a freelance comic home, street art seems to be a hobby for Mr Phlegm, and boy are we glad he does it. Dark and sophisticated, sheffield and white approach reminds of Tim Burton's drawings, having the same creepy allure that gives chills down the spine if you stare for long enough. It's the kind of nightmarish beauty you see when you completely lose your marbles and the slow music starts. Can't explain it. Phlegm's black Getting lost in his pieces is an easy feat onlooker - every single one has an astonishing level of detail and skill. While us everyday mortals find it difficult to tie our shoes at times, this man (in the broader sense of the word) can craft his shit to a degree beyond anything else you're likely to see on the street art scene. A medieval engraving flavour is for an innocent book also part of the art of Phlegm, even when he's doing rusty cars or abandoned petrol He has blessed some derelict, crumbling buildings with his fine knack, reminding us of how nothing in this world really lasts forever, except of course true art. Verging on the absurd and the grotesque - the spiked wheels inside this man's brain are turning in a way that does not avoid the dark, unexplored corners of the human psyche, but on the contrary, dwells on them. tankers. I have just decided to get a tattoo of the emblematic black and white squid present in many of his illustrations and paintings. His older pieces are colourful and a bit more cheerful than the more recent stuff, although a certain kind of sustenance toward symmetry is noticeable throughout. What provokes the deepest respect in people for what Phlegm does is the fact that he's part of that rare breed whose art goes way beyond the pen or spray can. Life itself is lived as a form of art with these people - in Phlegm's case, even the places he chooses to drop his outdoor pieces are part of the trade - unexpected, secluded symbiosis with the imagery. Discovering the works is in itself a journey for the lucky ones who do. There's no need to try understand what he had in mind when he did it - it speaks to you in your own way. Up to the individual what he makes of it. and somehow www.phlegmcomicnews.blogspot.co.uk Check out more art at in

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