Opening night Thursday Feb 8th, 6:30-8:30pm
‘Life Traps and Other Things’ sees Stormie explore the depths of his practice, in a process of self-actualisation, acknowledgement and letting go expressed through painting. A life trap is a pattern that starts in childhood and reverberates throughout life.
It is first given life through something that was done to us in our most formative years. We were abandoned, criticised, over protected, excluded or deprived. Eventually the life trap becomes part of us. Long after we leave the home we grew up in, we continue to create situations in which we are mistreated, ignored, put down or controlled and in which we sabotage our most desired goals.
This body of work is the most intimate insight into these maladaptive behaviours psychologists refer to as schemas; broad, pervasive themes that infiltrate our lives and affect the way in which we view ourselves and our relationship with others.
“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” - Stormie Mills
