Phibs is the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Tim De Haan (born 1974), a notable

graffiti art Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

ist operating out of Sydney, Australia.

Biography

Phibs was born in a coastal town in

Narooma, New South Wales Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...

, Australia before moving to Sydney in the late 1980s and then Melbourne in 2001. Phibs has been commissioned to large scale artworks by companies such as Rip Curl and

Absolut Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 from the Swedish state. Absolut is one of the largest brands ...

Vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...

. He also has been commissioned to decorate a number of buildings across Sydney such as jivamukti yoga in Newtown, and a number of murals throughout the city of Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. He has also travelled to countries outside of Australia where his work can also be seen on walls in Amsterdam, Brooklyn, Miami and New York. Phibs is still a prominent member of the Fitzroy-based Everfresh Studio Collective, alongside street artists

Rone Rone is the pseudonym of Tyrone Wright (born 1980), an internationally renowned street artist based in Melbourne, Australia. History Rone grew up in the city of Geelong, Victoria, before moving to Melbourne in 2001. In 2002, he started dec ...

and Mike Makka. Phibs was featured in the 2005 documentary, ''

RASH A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...

'', where he discusses his roots in graffiti art and paints murals with United States hip hop artist

Chali 2na Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971), better known as Chali 2na, is an American painter and rapper, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his bass-baritone and quick delivery rapping style. Personal life Early l ...

. Phibs was also one of the Australian street artists featured in Jon Reiss' 2010 documentary webseries, '' Bomb It 2''. In September 2015 the premiere episode of ''Event'', which aired on Foxtel Arts, featured Phibs as its Australian Artist in Residence. A number of Phibs’ print works have been acquired by the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in t ...

for its permanent collection. In recent years Phibs has been project managing and curating street art festivals. Most recently th
''Walk the Walls Festival''
in Caringbah (2018) and Cronulla (2019) with support from

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Southern Sydney, southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire comprises an area of and as at the had an estimated pop ...

Council and NSW Government. Phibs is currently based in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Style and influences

Phibs uses a complex wildstyle graffiti that incorporates interwoven and overlapping lettering and characters. His compositions usually feature animals such as fish and birds in a vibrant mix of complementary colours. He explores an interest in shapes by fragmenting and breaking up these subjects. Phib's artwork is heavily inspired by nature; flora and fauna are common themes. He employs abstraction, and symbolism using bold stylised line work and symmetry which are recognisable traits. Phibs credits influential Sydney writers, Dmote and Prins for being mentors.

References

{{Street Art 1974 births Living people Artists from Melbourne Australian graffiti artists Street artists Pseudonymous artists

Biography

Style and influences

See also

External links

References