Philip Lindeman builds a slightly haunted Sofia of night shops and stray cats in less than two weeks

What can an illustrator make in less than a fortnight? Quite a lot, I would imagine. But can they create an entire exhibition featuring walls of murals, three paintings, a dozen sculptures, a neon sign, a set of hand-poured candles, and a beer with its own label? Erm. You wouldn't think so, but if you're Philip Lindeman, it's entirely possible.

For his new solo show in Sofia, open until 20 October 2026, the Utrecht-based artist had to pull everything together in less than two weeks. It was for a residency at L44, a local creative space, and focused on the theme of city life after dark. Philip drew on cues such as night shops, dancers, drinkers, lost tourists and a load of stray cats, all with a dash of Bulgarian folklore and street scenes.

L44 describes the show as somewhere "between a hangover and a haunting", which probably describes most nights out in Manchester. "I'm endlessly fascinated by nightlife," he tells Creative Boom. "The contrasts it holds between light and dark, celebration and menace, safety and threat, inside and outside. When night falls, it's as if a different world opens its doors."

As for the Bulgarian influence, that was part of the brief set by L44. It was something of a challenge because Philip had never set foot in the country before, and knew nothing about Sofia. He says it was "making a kind of prediction I'd soon get to test against reality, which isn't a sensation you get very often." He needn't have worried, as the response from locals has been warm. "They recognised the elements and overall vibe," he says.

So how did Philip create a universe in such a short space of time? He had it all mapped out before he arrived in Sofia. And then it was a case of putting in the hard graft. "For stretches of the production, workdays sometimes took up to fourteen hours," says Philip. "Murals in the morning, gallery work until the sun went down. And somewhere in between sleep became optional."

If you're familiar with Philip's work, then you'll know he loves to hide small jokes here and there. But for Open 24/7, he pared things back, making it harder to spot his cheeky details. "A thing most visitors probably won't register: the wooden shoes, sometimes with floating laces, scattered around the gallery space," he says. "They are recurring characters in my worlds, along with an occasional pair of lost glasses, for example. It's a quiet hint at a bigger, more dramatic narrative. The trace of a wild night in the city, a small tragedy, or whatever else it sparks for the viewer."

We've all lost something on a night out. My most recent mishap? A beloved green umbrella. Left somewhere in Chester.

What I love the most about Philip's latest exhibition is that everything was made by hand. Even the two animated loops, created with Lobster Studio, ended up as limited-edition flipbooks and as giclée prints that spring to life through augmented reality. "Making analogue work doesn't come with an easy ctrl-z," says Philip. "Embrace your own humanity, and the way it steers you through that analogue process."

The two-week experience has stayed with Philip back home in Utrecht. "I found a few new steps in my process out there," he says. "A looser hand, a broader relationship with colour when it has to hold up across fourteen metres instead of one canvas."

There's joy in the process, no matter how challenging. And yes, there are so many opportunities to grow. "And if it really doesn't work out, you can always go back to your good old iPad," he says. Open 24/7 by Philip Lindeman runs at L44 in Sofia until 20 October 2026.