This success is fragile, 2017, Stormie Mills
Acrylic, dirt, spray paint, graffiti remover and oil on canvas, 101cm x 101cm
Provenance: Metro Gallery, Melbourne.
Australian street artist, Stormie Mills is best known for his neutrally coloured, thought provoking characters. His characters began appearing on the streets, but are now in galleries and homes around the world. Mills has also transformed his characters into the third dimension, with sculptures appearing at the Brisbane International Arts Festival known as “the stormie mills project.” This body of work appeared as part of the Perth Fringe Festival and at the prestigious international Sculptures By The Sea exhibition (1).
This success is fragile was produced by Stormie Mills as part of his ‘Life Traps and Other Things’ exploration. A life trap is a pattern that starts in childhood and follows us throughout life. In this collection, Mills reckons with recognising these traps, and using the work to let go of them.
Artist Statement
“We all have something that can be our greatest strength but at the same time our Achilles Heel. At times it holds more power over us than others, or maybe, perhaps we are not even aware it exists within us. A thing that may make us great at work, but not so good at life. We may suffer under these things that we may flippantly refer to as issues: fear of failure or success, loneliness or social exclusion, feelings of abandonment or subjugation and its best friend, approval. Many of these works are about these things. In fact most of my work has been, I just wasn’t aware of it. So this series is about understanding these schemas, conquering them, and then letting go amongst other things.” (2)