Phlegm Sheffield: Anonymous street artist spotted painting new mural on Crookes restaurant No Name

The popular anonymous street artist known only as Phlegm has been photographed working on a new mural in Sheffield.

Locals passing the No Name bistro in Crookes on Tuesday were able to see the man himself at work, decorating the business’ shutter with a new wonderous piece.

It is said Phlegm was more than happy to be photographed as he worked, but only requested his face was not visible.

He told a passer-by: “With my work being quite fantastical, it spoils the mystique a little bit if people get to see who created it. It takes away something, well I think so.”

The internationally renowned artist, who has previously been based in Sheffield, has contributed many murals to the city’s urban walls over the years, including on Devonshire Street, Headford Street and Snuff Mill Lane.

The Millenium Gallery in Sheffield city centre is also currently hosting Phlegm’s Pandemic Diaries exhibition - a series of more than 60 pen and ink drawings created by the artist during the 2020 lockdown.

The exhibition opened in January, but has just weeks to go before it closes on July 7, 2024.

Locals said Phlegm started on the new mural at around 2.30pm on May 21. He’d arrived with a sketch of the mural in a book and just began to paint it onto the shutter, without any drawing on the street canvas beforehand.

It is the latest artwork to be welcomed in Sheffield this week after Pete McKee’s ‘The Snog’ was reinstated in its rightful place on the side of Fagan’s pub.

The Snog had disappeared from the wall of the pub whilst important re-rendering works were conducted.

McKee finished repainting the iconic mural on Monday with some slight differences from the first - he called it “The Snog 2.0” in an interview with The Star.