{"id":573770,"date":"2026-07-07T18:55:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T18:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/573770\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T18:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T18:55:18","slug":"enigmatic-iconography-and-incomplete-narratives-merge-in-phlegms-murals-and-engravings-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/573770\/","title":{"rendered":"Enigmatic Iconography and Incomplete Narratives Merge in Phlegm’s Murals and Engravings \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his characteristically illustrative, enigmatic style, Phlegm<\/a>\u2019s monochrome compositions evoke wonder, mischief, and riddles. Hybrid figures, strange interactions, and uncanny combinations of objects fill his idosyncratic murals<\/a>, about which we can only speculate the meaning. \u201cI think a lot about the barriers between people understanding each other, and I think I enjoy making artwork that floats in some grey area,\u201d the London-based artist tells Colossal.<\/p>\n

The past several years have been dominated by a fascination with copper engraving, \u201cto the point where I pretty much stopped painting murals,\u201d Phlegm says. He\u2019s spent much of the time in an almost monastic reverence to printmaking techniques of the Northern Renaissance, initially delving into the work of a group of German printmakers known as The Little Masters<\/a>, who practiced their craft on minuscule surfaces just an inch or two across.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Phlegm\u2019s reimagining of Albrecht D\u00fcrer\u2019s \u201cKnight, Death, and the Devil\u201d (1513)<\/p>\n

Phlegm then embarked on an ambitious completist project focused exclusively on Albrecht D\u00fcrer\u2019s \u201cKnight, Death, and the Devil,<\/a>\u201d which he created in 1513 and incorporated a wealth of iconography, the meaning of which is still debated by art historians today. \u201cI spent a great deal of time collecting old copies of it, studying it under a microscope, and figuring out how the image was created,\u201d the artist says. \u201cThe last two years, I\u2019ve been engraving my own version where I\u2019ve replaced everything for my own but tried to stay true to the line work and layout of the composition.\u201d<\/p>\n

In what may seem to be in total opposition to the broad strokes required to paint a mural several stories high, engraving requires painstaking attention to detail. But as he returns to mural-making, Phlegm revisits themes that crop up regularly in his work, from folk law and ritual to prehistory and archaeology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in my work, I\u2019ve always loved telling broken stories that can land as either dark or light\u2014 narratives that feel hard to read clearly,\u201d he says. With archaeology, for instance, \u201cyou can piece\u00a0together tangible parts of a story and get glimpses of moments from the past, but it\u2019s often broken or without context. I\u2019m very drawn to this feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of honesty<\/a> in art is not a new one, but discussion of its role has emerged with more gusto in the era of the internet, social media, and generative AI. Phlegm describes his approach as one centered around honesty, which might be further defined in terms of candidness, sincerity, and attention to detail. His cryptic works appear to possess a narrative, but what that is, we\u2019re never totally sure. But that\u2019s the point. \u201cI often meticulously work out their\u00a0history and intricate stories only to leave out large chunks,\u201d the artist says.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Photo by @streetartatlas<\/p>\n

In designing a mural, he might write an entire story and format a set of frames like one might find in a comic book, but only a fragment of this tale gets translated onto a wall. \u201cIt helps me make something that feels authentic and stops me approaching\u00a0the space with a mindset tainted by trying to make something look good,\u201d he says. \u201cLooking good tends to come secondary to the storytelling.\u201d Nevertheless, having focused for a time on very intricate, small-scale work, his approach to large-scale murals has become what he describes as more fluid and confident.<\/p>\n

See more on the Phlegm\u2019s Instagram<\/a>, and you can also stay updated via his Substack<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Photo by @streetartatlas<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"street<\/a>Photo by @streetartatlas<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Photo by @streetartatlas<\/p>\n

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