Phillip Long is a British artist whose career began in the early 1990s at the heart of London’s underground rave scene. Through his visionary project, Nagual Creations, he pioneered large-scale, immersive artworks that brought a new level of depth and atmosphere to music and multimedia events across the world—from iconic London clubs to mountaintops in Japan and the bush in South Africa.

Though the setting has shifted from dance floors to living rooms, work spaces and galleries, Phillip’s work still offers an invitation into an otherworldly, surreal experience—one which invites the viewer to invest their time and be rewarded with layers of detail and meaning.

 ‘My artistic journey has been an unconventional one.

I spent my teens in a remote part of the Lake District, spending time contemplating its natural beauty through the lens of the abundant local natural psychedelics. After a short stint at art College in Carlisle, which dampened my creative spirit, I moved to London and was introduced to the rave scene. I was entranced by the subculture and use of UV lights. Very quickly, I was inspired to create new and organic fluorescent colours, inspired by nature, something I had not seen done before, and use them to create huge canvasses and sculptures which formed immersive installations for events.’ — Phillip Long

Phillip's aim is to create paintings which have instant impact. However, the more time the viewer invests in the work, the more they will be rewarded with details and layers of meaning.

Phillip works intuitively, trying not to consciously interfere with the process, but to extract parallels and connections between seemingly disparate objects from the subconscious. Meaning inevitably reveals itself after the concept is laid down. He prefers not to obstruct the viewer in their interpretation as it may limit what they take away from the work.

"I originally started painting to complement and reflect the feeling that music evokes in people at parties, and reflect the all-engulfing sensation of otherworldly connection and euphoria visually. There is still an element of this in my work, but tuned for the living or work space"

Phillip likes to combine the mundane with the fantastical, using a surreal palette. He draws on nature, science, music, love and humour.