A bestiary is an illustrated compendium describing animals – some real, some imaginary – that was popular in the Middle Ages, but now there’s an opportunity to see an updated version featuring creatures from the imagination of the delightfully-named street artist Phlegm. The Sheffield enigma has been labouring since the end of last year, creating a site-specific installation of panels, casts and sculpture at the Howard Griffin Gallery in Shoreditch.
The animals in this bestiary are half-human things, the kind that might have evolved in isolation from the rest of mankind, primitive hunters with their own technology of clever mechanisms. We see some specimens preserved in rows of jars, while others run free across the length and breadth of the venue. The immersive monochrome work is a non-commercial one, and marks the first venture into a gallery setting for the artist who has gained a cult following for his mural work in cities throughout Europe. Due to the interactive layout of The Bestiary it is best experienced by walking around in person, and the gallery will host the menagerie until 4 March.
Photography, Marcus Peel
